ON THE 



IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIETY 



BY THE 



DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE 

OR, 

AN ILLUSTRATION 

OF THE 

ADVANTAGES WHICH WOULD RESULT FROM A MORE GENERAL DISSEMINATION 
OP RATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION AMONG ALL RANKS. 

ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAYINGS. 



BY THOMAS DICK, LL. D. 

AUTHOR OF U THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER," u THE PHILOSOPHY 
OF RELIGION," " THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE," &C. 



n Knowledge is Power." — Lord Bacon. 



PHILADELPAIA: 

PUBLISHED BY KEY & BIDDLE, 

23, MINOR STREET. 

1833. 






3o 2> ity 



, f 



*.* 



» J 



PREFACE. 



The plan and outlines of the following work were sketched, and 
a considerable portion of it composed, about eighteen years ago. 
It was advertised, as preparing for the press, in 1823, when the 
author published the first edition of" The Christian Philosopher ;" 
but various other engagements prevented its appearance at that 
period. The Introduction and the two first Sections were pub- 
lished in a respectable Quarterly Journal, in the year 1816 ; but 
they are now considerably modified and enlarged. This circum- 
stance will account for the date of some of the illustrative facts to 
which reference is made in the first part of the volume, and -in 
several portions of the Appendix. 

Had the present work been published at any of the periods now 
referred to, the subject it discusses, and some of the illustrations, 
would have presented a more novel aspect than they can lay claim 
to at the present time, when the Diffusion of Knowledge has be- 
come an object of general attention. The author, however, is not 
aware, that any work embracing so full an illustration of the same 
topics has yet made its appearance ; and is, therefore, disposed to 
indulge the hope, that, in conjunction with the present movements 
of society, it may, in some degree, tend to stimulate those exer- 
tions which are now making for the melioration and mental im- 
provement of mankind. Independently of the general bearing of 
the facts and illustrations on the several topics they are intended 
to elucidate, the author trusts that not a few fragments of useful 
knowledge will be found incorporated in the following pages, cal- 
culated to entertain and instruct the general reader. 

In the numerous illustrations brought forward in this volume, it 
was found impossible altogether to avoid a recurrence to certain 
facts which the author had partially adverted to in some of his 



IV PREFACE. 

former publications — without interrupting the train of thought, 
and rendering his illustrations partial and incomplete. But, where 
the same facts are introduced, they are generally brought forward 
to elucidate a different topic. Any statements or descriptions of 
this kind, however, which may have the appearance of repeti- 
tion, could all be comprised within the compass of three or four 
pages. 

The general subject of the present work will be prosecuted in 
another volume, to be entitled " The Mental Illumination of Man- 
kind ; or an inquiry into the Means by which a general diffusion of 
knowledge may be promoted." This work will embrace — along 
with a great variety of other topics — an examination of the present 
system of education, showing its futility and inefficiency, and illus- 
trating the principles and details of an efficient intellectual system, 
capable of universal application ; together with a variety of sug- 
gestions in relation to the physical, moraj, and intellectual im- 
provement of society. 

To his numerous correspondents who have been inquiring after 
the work, " T7ie Scenery of the Heavens displayed, with the view of 
illustrating the doctrine of a Plurality of Worlds" which was an- 
nounced at page 285 of the " Philosophy of a Future State," — the 
author begs respectfully to state, that, if health permit, he intends to 
proceed, without delay, to the completion of that work, as soon as 
the volume announced above is ready for the press. It will form 
a volume of considerable size, and will be illustrated with a great 
number of engravings, many of which will be original. 

Brmighty Femj, near Dundee, 
\Sth Jpril, 1833. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction — Retrospective view of the state of mankind — ignorance of 
the dark ages — revival of learning at the Reformation, 11 — 14. Present 
intellectual state of the human race, 14. Causes which have retarded the 
progress of the human mind, 17. A more general diffusion of knowledge 
desirable, 19. Preludes which indicate the approach of the era of intelli- 
gence, 19. 

SECTION I. 

INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE IN DISSIPATING SUPERSTITIOUS 
NOTIONS AND VAIN FEARS, 21 

Objects and circumstances which ignorance has arrayed with imaginary ter- 
rors — eclipses, comets, aurora borealis, &c. 22. Absurdity of astrology, 23. 
Belief attached to its doctrines, 24. Various prevalent superstitious opi- 
nions — omens — witches— spectres, &c. 25. Proof of such notions still pre- 
vailing, 27. Superstitions indulged by men of rank and learning, 28. Bane- 
ful tendency of superstition, 30 — leads to deeds of cruelty and injustice, 30. 
How knowledge would undermine superstition, and its usual accompani- 
ments — illustrated at large, 31 — -34. Animadversion on Dr. S. Johnson, 
&c. 35. 

SECTION II. 

ON THE UTILITY OF KNOWLEDGE IN PREVENTING DISEASES 
AND FATAL ACCIDENTS, 37 

Accidents which have happened from ignorance of the properties of the differ- 
ent gases, and the means of preventing them, 37. Disasters which have 
happened in coal-mines, 39. Figure of Davy's Safety Lamp, with descrip- 
tion and remarks, 42, Accidents caused by the stroke of lightning, 42. 
Precautions requisite to be attended to during thunder-storms, 43. .Acci- 
dents from ignorance of the principles of Mechanics, 44. Reasons of such 
accidents explained by a figure, 45. Fatal accidents caused from ignorance 
of the effects produced by the refraction of light — illustrated by figures and 
experiments, 46. Accidents from the clothes of females catching fire, and 
the means of prevention, 4S. Various diseases propagated from ignorance of 
their nature, 49. Pernicious effects of contaminated air, 50. Improper 
mode of treating children during infancy, and its fatal effects, 52. Import- 
ance of temperance, 53. General remarks, 54. 



VI CONTENTS, 



SECTION III. 



ON THE INFLUENCE WHICH A DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE 
WOULD HAVE ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE, 55 

Science founded on facts, 56. Every person is endowed with faculties for 
observing tacts, 57. Anecdote of Sir I. Newton, 57. Extraordinary powers 
of intellect not necessary for making discoveries in science, 58. Ample 
field of investigation still remains, 59. Discoveries would be nearly in pro- 
portion to the number of observers, GO. Various illustrations of these posi- 
tions. — Geology, its multifarious objects and disiderata, 62. Natural His- 
tory, how it may be improved, and its range extended, 64. Meteorology, 
imperfection of our knowledge in regard to many of its objects, — thunder- 
storms, aurora borealis, meteoric stones, &c. 89. Astronomy, disiderata in 
reference to, which remain to be ascertained, 68. Illustration taken from 
Jupiter, with four different views of this planet, 70. Venus, mode by which 
the time of its rotation may be determined, 71 — illustrated by a figure, 72. 
Comets, fixed stars — Moon, plan by which our knowledge of the scenery 
of this globe may be extended, 73. Discoveries which have been made in 
the heavens by accident, 75. Prospects presented when knowledge shall 
be more generally diffused, 75. Chemistry, its objects, and the means of its 
improvements, 76. Futility of framing hypotheses — importance of observ- 
ing facts — general remarks and reflections, 77 — 80. 

SECTION IV. 

ON THE PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH THE PURSUITS OF 
SCIENCE, 81 

Pleasures of sense and of intellect, 81. The enjoyments of the ignorant, 
and of the man of intelligence contrasted, and particularly illustrated, 82 — 
87. Pleasure annexed to the gratification of the principle of curiosity, 88. 
Scientific facts illustrative of this subject — Number of effects produced by a 
single principle in nature, 88. Surprising resemblances in operations where 
we should least of all have expected them, 90. Grand and sublime objects 
which science presents before us, 91. Variety of novel and interesting objects 
it exhibits, 94. Illustrated from mechanics, hydrostatics, magnetism, optics, 
chemistry, &c. 95. Instruments connected with optics, 95. Figure of the 
Aerial Telescope, 96. Pleasure in tracing the steps by which discoveries 
have been made, and the experiments by which they are illustrated, 99 — 
103. Beneficial tendency of scientific pursuits on the heart, and on social 
and domestic enjoyment — miscellaneous reflections and remarks, 103 — 109. 

SECTION V. 

ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, 
AND ITS TENDENCY TO PROMOTE THE COMFORTS OF 
GENERAL SOCIETY, 109 

1. A knowledge of science would render mechanics, &c. more skilful in their 
respective employments — illustrated from the arts of dyeing, calico print- 
ing, bleaching, brewing, tanning, agriculture, &c. 109 — 112. Chemistry, 
ntially requisite to surgeon and apothecaries, 112. Utility of practi- 
cal Geometry, illustrated by a diagram, 114 Utility of Mechanics, 1 1 5. 
Of Hydrostatics and Hydraulics, illustrated with various figures, 117. 



CONTENTS. Vii 

Hydrostatical paradox, mode of conveying water, hydrostatical press, per- 
pendicular pressure of water, and the accidents it may occasion, 119. 
Application of these facts to engineering and hydraulic operations, 123. 
Disaster occasioned by want of attention to hydrostatic principles, 124. 
Practical utility of Pneumatics — anecdote illustrative of, 125. Mode of 
curing smoky chimneys, illustrated by figures, 128. Utility of an acquaint- 
ance with Optics, 129. Explanation of the nature of a telescope, and the 
mode of its construction, 130. Mode of constructing a compound micro- 
scope, with illustrative figures, 131. Burning lenses, Sir D. Brewster's 
Polyzonal Lens, reflecting concave mirrors for light-houses, &c. with illus- 
trative figures, 134. Utility of Electricity and Galvanism, 135. Mode of 
directing lightning as a mechanical power, 136. Practical applications of 
Magnet ism, and late discoveries in — magnetized masks, &c. 138. Practi- 
cal utility of Geology, 139. Utility of Natural History, 139. Application of 
steam — steam navigation — steam carriages, 140. Carburetted hydrogen 
gas, 141. Utility of science to day-labourers, house-keepers, kitchen-maids, 
&c. 142. Instances illustrative of the advantages of chemical knowledge, 
144. 

II. Scientific knowledge would pave the way for future inventions and improvt* 
merits in the arts. Circumstances which led to the invention and subse- 
quent improvement of the telescope, with a figure of the first telescope, 
145 — 6. Fraunhofer's telescope — Guinand's experiments on the composi- 
tion of flint glass — Description of an achromatic object-glass, with a figure, 
&c. 146 — 7. Historical sketches of certain inventions — steam engine — 
mariner's compass — galvanic principle — pendulum clocks — watches — air- 
pump — spinning jennies — safety lamp, &c. 147. Few inventions owing to 
chance, 149. Cautions to be attended to in the construction and use of the safety 
lamp, 151. Mechanics have a greater chance of becoming inventors than 
mere philosophers, 220. Prospects of improvement in future ages, 1 52. 

III. The external comforts of mankind promoted by intelligence and improvements 
in the arts, 154. Contrast between the past and present aspect of the social 
state, 155. Wretched accommodations which still exist among the lower 
classes, 155. Mental improvement would lead to diligence and economy 
to cleanliness in person, clothes, and furniture — to tasteful decorations ot 
houses and garden-plots — improvements in foot-paths, narrow lanes, vil- 
lages, &c 156—160. 

SECTION VI. 

ON THE INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE IN PROMOTING EN- 
LARGED CONCEPTIONS OF THE CHARACTER AND PERFEC- 
TIONS OF THE DEITY, 160 

Grovelling conceptions of the Deity both in heathen and Christian countries, 
160. Just conceptions of the Divinity acquired from his external manifes- 
tions, 161. Ignorance exhibits distorted views of the Divine character, 163. 
•Attributes of the Deity which science illustrates: 1. The unity of God, 165. 
2. Wisdom of the Deity — manifested in the various arrangements of sub- 
lunary nature, 166. Particular illustration, 167. 3. Benevolence of the 
Deity — manifested in the parts of the human frame, and in the surround- 
ing elements — muscles of the eye (illustrated with figures) — gratification 
afforded to our different senses, 169 — 172. Remedies against the evils to 
which we are exposed, 172. Multitude of animated beings, and the ample 
provision made for them, 173. Calculations in relation to the number of 
certain species of birds, and the velocity with which the fly, 173. Number 
of species of plants eaten by different animals, 174. 4. Science exhibits a 
view of the multiplicity of conceptions which have been formed in the Divine 



\ 111 CONTENTS. 

mind, 175. Exemplified in the different construction and functions of the 
van. iea of animals. 176 — in the numerous parts which enter into 

the construction (fan animal frame, 178. Lvonet's description of the 
numerous parts of the cos&us caterpillar, 179. Multiplicity or ideas marri- 
ed in tne Vegetable kingdom, ISO. Varieties in the Mineral kingdom, 
181. Varieties in .Microscopical objects — scales of fishes, feathers of birds, 
wings of flies, leaves ami transverse sections of plants, &c. 183. Numbers 
and varieties of animaleuhe, 1S5. Immensity of nature, 189. Descrip- 
tion oi' the engravings of microscopic objects, ISO — 193. Variety in the 
external aspect of nature — in the sun, planets, comets, and on the surface 
of the moon, 190 — 105. 5. Science expands our conceptions of the power 
of tht Deity, and of the magnificence of his empire, 195 — 198. Such views of 
Deity in unison with the dictates of Revelation, — and calculated to pro- 
duce ma >ay beneficial effects on the understandings and affections of man- 
kind, 199. 

SECTION VII. 

ON THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF KNOWLEDGE ON MORAL 
PRINCIPLE AND CONDUCT, 201 

Introductory remarks — knowledge and moral action inseparably connected, 
201. Ignorance one principal cause of immorality and crime, 202. Know- 
ledge requisite for ascertaining the true principles of moral action, 204. It 
leads to inquiries into the reasons of moral laws and the foundations on 
which they rest, 205 — to self-examination and self-inspection, 207 — and to 
a comprehensive view of the bearings and consequences of moral actions, 
209. Miscellaneous remarks, and objections answered, 210 — 212. 

SECTION VIII. 

ON THE UTILITY OF KNOWLEDGE IN RELATION TO A FUTURE 
WORLD, 213 

Man destined to an eternal state, 213. Knowledge will be carried along 
with us into that state, 213. Scientific knowledge has a relation to a future 
world, 214. Evidences of a future state, 216. Causes of the indifference 
which prevails on this subject, 217. Knowledge prepares ihe mind for the 
employments of the future world, 21 S. Impossibility of enjoying happiness 
in that world without knowledge and moral principle, 219 — 221. General 
remarks, 22^. 

SECTION IX. 

uN THE UTILITY OK GENERAL KNOWLEDGE IN REFERENCE 
TO THE STUDTOP DIVINE REVELATION, 223 

unary remarks, 223. Summary of the external evidences of Christianity, 
224. Evidence from J, 226. Resurrection of Christ, 227. Evi- 

IV dictions in relation to Babylon, the Arabs, 

...'. Internal evidences, 232. Dignity and sublimity of the 

ibit the most rational and sublime views of the Deity, 

233 — give full assurance of a state of immortality, 234 — point out the way 

in which pardon maybe obtained, 234 — inculcate the purest and mostcom- 

tem of morality, 235 — 245 — explain certain moral pheno- 



CONTENTS. IX 

mena, 238 — communicate a knowledge of interesting facts and doctrines, 
239. Beneficial effects which Christianity has produced in the world, 240 
— is adapted to every country, 244. Harmony of Science and Revelation,. 
&c 244. Christianity of the Bible, 246. Evidences of Revelation continu- 
ally increasing, 247. Reason for giving the preceding summary of these 
evidences, 248. General knowledge enables us to understand the mean- 
ing and references of the Sacred Writings, 249. Figures used in the pro- 
phetical writings, 249. Heathen mythology illustrative of Scripture-history, 
251. Manners and customs of eastern nations, 253. Utility of ancient 
geography, 254. Natural history and science illustrative of Scripture, 255. 
Evaporation — rivers — ocean — storms — animated beings — human body — 
the heavens — plurality of worlds, 257 — 261. Advantages which would 
result from an intelligent study of the Scriptures, 262. Folly of infidelity, 
&c. 264. 

SECTION X. 

MISCELLANEOUS ADVANTAGES OF KNGWLEDGE BRIEFLY 
STATED, 265 

I. Knowledge would lead to just estimates of human character and enjoyment — 
various remarks on this topic, 265 — 268. II. The acquisition of general 
information would enable persons to profit by their attendance on public instmc- 
tions, 268. Scientific lectures — instructions from the pulpit — limited nature 
of these instructions in consequence of the ignorance of mankind — pros- 
pects presented when knowledge is increased, 269 — 273. III. Knowledge 
would introduce a spirit of tolerance, and prevent persecution for conscience'* 
sake, 273. Persecutions which have prevailed, and still prevail, 274. Ab- 
surdity of persecution — general remarks, &c. 275. IV. Knowledge would 
vanquish the antipathies of nations, and produce harmony among mankind, 27 7. 
Miseries and devastations of war — jealousies and hostilities of nations, 278. 
— arguments and efforts which enlightened minds would employ for coun- 
teracting them, 280. Advantages which would result from the union of 
mankind, 282. Practicability of effecting it, 284. V. A general diffusion 
of knowledge would promote the union of the Christian church, 286. Number 
of sectaries — slight differences of opinion between them, 287. Evils which 
have flowed from sectarianism — promotes infidelity — retards the progress 
of Christianity, &c. 288. Folly of attaching an undue importance to secta- 
rian opinions, 289. Remedies for the divisions of the church, 290. Liberality 
and bigotry contrasted, 291. Character of violent party-partizans, 293. 
Auspicious effects which would flow from Christian union, 294. Present 
circumstances favourable to union, 296. Concessions which behooved to be 
made bv all parties, — preparative measure to union, 297 — concluding re- 
mark, 298. 

SECTION XI. 

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTING SCIENCE WITH RELI- 
GION, 295 

Increase of knowledge, of late years, 299. Tendency to irreligion in certain 
scientific inquirers, and the circumstances which have produced it, 300. 
Religion and science connected — irrationality and inconsistency of attempt- 
ing to dissever them, 301. Christian religion overlooked, 303. Supreme 
importance of Christianity, 303. Effects of a complete separation of science 
and religion, 305. Tendency of our present modes of education, 306. 
Illustrated from the scenes exhibited during the French Revolution, 307. De- 



CONTENTS. 

moralization produced by the principled of the Continental Philosophists, 
308. Persecuting spirit of French infidels and skeptics, 309. Science 
without religion produc s few moral effects, 310. Subversion of morality 
in Prance, a beacon to guard us from similar dangers, 311. Extract from 
Kcv. D. young, 311. Nature of the proposed connexion between science 
and religion, 312. Attributes of the Deity displayed in his works, 312. 
Authors who have illustrated this subject, with remarks on some of their 
writings, 313. Modern system of Physico-Theology, a desideratum, 316. 
New ton, Maclaurin, and Robison's sentiments on this subject, 316. Truths 
Revelation ought to be recognized in scientific instructions, 317. 
Squeamishness of certain philosophers in this respect, 318. Extract from 
Dr. Robison, 318. Harmony of Nature and Revelation, 319. Scientific in- 
structions should produce a moral impression, 320. Prayer and recogni- 
tion of the. Deity in philosophical associations, 320. Hypocrisy of skeptics, 
321. Exemplified in the case of Buff on t 322. Topics, connected with 
religion, which might occasionally be discussed in scientific associations, 
323. Immortality, its importance in a scientific point of view, 324. Skepti- 
cal philosophy insufficient to support the mind in the prospect of dissolu- 
tion — exemplified in the case of Voltaire, Buffon, Gibbon, Hume, and Dide- 
rot, 326—329. Concluding reflections, 329, 330. 



APPENDIX. 

No. I. Ignorance of the dark ages — scarcity and high price of books 331 
No. II. Superstitious opinions respecting Comets and Eclipses — De- 
scription of a solar eclipse, and its effects on the inhabitants of Bar- 
bary 333—336 

No. III. Absurdities of Astrology 336 

No. IV. Proofs of the belief which is still attached to the doctrines of 
Astrology 338 

V. Illustrations of some of the opinions and practices in relation to 
witchcraft _ 340 

History of witchcraft — and the numbers that suffered for this supposed 

crime 341—343 

No. VI. Proofs that the belief in witchcraft is still prevalent among 

a rtain classes of society 345 

Tales o. lion published by the Jesuits — Anecdote of Alexander 

Dawidson, A.M. 348 

.'wj. VII. Ci rices which have occasionally led to the belief of 

tnd apparitions — Indistinct vision — Doses of opium — Drunk- 
- — Pear — Tricks of impostors — Ventriloquism — 
Witch of Endor — Phantasmagoria — Ghost of a Flea, &c. 350 — 363 

No. YJU. Explosions of steam-engines — Accidents in America, on the 
Liverpool Railway, &c. with remarks, 365 — 369 

which led to the invention of the Safety Lamp 372 
No. X. ' .illy of the remarks and observations of Mechanics 

and Manufaci u r 371 

No. XI. Liberality of Religious Sectaries in America, contrasted with 

372 
II. On the Demoralizing effects of Infidel Philosophy in France, 
377. ( rambling — ( loncubinage — Prostitution — Profanation of the 
— Danso-mmia — moral reflections — Consecration of the 
"Goddess of Reason" — Concluding remarks 378 — 386 



ON THE 



GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



^INTRODUCTION. 

When we take a retrospective view of the state of mankind 
during the ages that are past, it presents, on the whole, a melan- 
choly scene of intellectual darkness. Although in every age, men 
have possessed all the mental faculties they now or ever will enjoy, 
yet those noble powers seem either to have lain in a great measure 
dormant, or, when roused into action, to have been employed chiefly 
in malignant and destructive operations. Hence, the events 
which the page of history records chiefly present to our view the 
most revolting scenes of war, rapine, and devastation, as if the 
earth had been created merely to serve as a theatre for mischief, 
and its inhabitants for the purpose of dealing destruction and 
misery to all around them. Such, however, are the natural con- 
sequences of the reign of Ignorance over the human mind. For 
the active powers of man necessarily follow the dictates of his un- 
derstanding, and w T hen the intellectual faculties are not directed to 
the pursuit and the contemplation of noble and benevolent objects, 
they will most frequently be employed in devising and executing 
schemes subversive of human happiness and improvement. 

Amidst the darkness which, in ancient times, so long overspread 
the world, some rays of intellectual light appeared in Palestine, in 
Egypt, and in the Greek and Roman empires ; but its influence 
on the nations around was extremely feeble, and, like a few tapers 
in a dark night, served little more than to render the surround- 
ing darkness visible. The light of science which then shone was, 
however, doomed to be speedily extinguished. About the fifth 
century of the Christian era, numerous hordes of barbarians from 
the northern and the eastern parts of Europe, and the north-western 
parts of Asia, overran the western part of the Roman empire, at 
that time the principal seat of knowledge ; and, in their progress, 
overturned and almost annihilated every monument of science and 
art which then existed. Wherever they marched, their route was 
marked with devastation and with blood. They made no distinc- 
tion between what was sacred and what was profane — what wa3 
barbarous and what was refined. Amidst the din of war, the burn- 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

inn of cities, the desolation of provinces, the convulsion of nations, 
die ruin of empires, and the slaughter of millions, the voice of 
reason and of religion was scarcely heard $ science was abandon- 
ed ; useful knowledge was set at nought ; every benevolent feel- 
ing and every moral principle were trampled under foot. The 
earth seemed little else than one great held of battle; and its in- 
habitants, instead of cultivating the peaceful arts and sciences, 
and walking hand in hand to a blessed immortality, assumed the 
character of demons, and gave vent to the most fiend-like and 
ferocious passions, till they appeared almost <#i the brink of total 
extermination. 

For nearly the space of a thousand years posterior to that pe- 
riod, and prior to the Reformation, a long night of ignorance over- 
spread the nations of Europe, and the adjacent regions of Asia, 
during which, the progress of literature and science, of religion 
and morality, seems to have been almost at a stand ; scarcely a 
vestige remaining of the efforts of the human mind, during all that 
period, worthy of the attention or the imitation of succeeding ages. 
The debasing superstitions of the Romish church, the hoarding 
of relics the erection of monasteries and nunneries, the pilgrim- 
ages to the tombs of martyrs and other holy places, the mummeries 
which were introduced into the services of religion, the wild and 
romantic expeditions of crusaders, the tyranny and ambition of 
popes and princes and the wars and insurrections to which they 
gave rise, usurped the place of every rational pursuit, and com- 
pletely enslaved the minds of men. So great was the ignorance 
which then prevailed, that persons of the most distinguished rank 
could neither read nor write. Even many of the clergy did not 
understand the Breviary, or book of common prayer, which they 
were daily accustomed to recite, and some of them could scarcely 
read it.* The records of past transactions were in a great 
measure lost, and legendary tales and fabulous histories, to cele- 
brate exploits which were never performed, were substituted in 
place of the authenticated history of mankind. The learning 
which then prevailed, under the name of philosophy and of 
scholastic theology, consisted chiefly in vain disquisitions and rea- 

* As an evidence of the extreme ignorance of tliose times, it may be stated, 
that many charters grant* d by persons of the highest rank are preserved, from 
which it appears that, they could not subscribe their name. It was usual for 
persons who could tot write, to make the s'<:rnof the cross, in confirmation of a 
charter. Several of these remain, where kings and persons of great eminence 
affix ngnwn cruris manu propria \ e literurum, " the sign of the cross 

mado by our own hand, on account of our ignorance of letters." From this 
dreams! ince ifl d< rived the practice of making a -\- when signing a deed, in the 
f those who cannot subscribe their names. See Robertson's Charles V. 
and Jppnidix, No. 1. 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

scY?ngs about abstract truths, and incomprehensible mysteries, and 
in attempts to decide questions and points of theology, which lie 
beyond the reach of the human mind, and which its limited facul- 
ties are unable to resolve. Sophisms, falsehoods, and bold assev- 
erations were held forth as demonstrations ; a pompous display of 
words was substituted in the place of things ; eloquence consisted 
in vague and futile declamations ; and true philosophy was lost 
amidst the mazes of wild and extravagant theories and metaphy- 
sical subtleties. The sciences, such as they were, were all taught 
in the Latin tongue, and all books in relation to them were writ- 
ten in that language ; the knowledge of them was therefore neces- 
sarily confined to the circle of the learned, and it would have been 
considered as a degradation of the subject, to have treated of it in 
any of the modern languages which then prevailed. The gates 
of the temple of knowledge were consequently shut against the 
great body of people, and it was never once surmised that they 
had any right to explore its treasures. " During this period," 
says Dr. Robertson, " the human mind neglected, uncultivated, 
and depressed, continued in the most profound ignorance. 
Europe, during four centuries, produced few authors who merit 
to be read, either on account of the elegance of their composition, 
or the justness and novelty of their sentiments. There are few 
inventions, useful or ornamental to society, of which that long 
period can boast." And, if those of the highest ranks, and in the 
most eminent stations in society, were so deficient in knowledge, 
the great mass of the people must have been vinV into a state of 
ignorance, degrading to human nature. 

About the time of the revival of letters, after the dark ages of 
monkish superstition and ignorance, the moral and intellectual 
state of the inhabitants of Europe began to experience a change 
au« picious of better times and of a more enlightened sera. The 
diminution of the papal power and influence, the spirit of civil 
a*id religious liberty which then burst forth, the erection of new 
Seminaries of education, the discovery of the mariner's compass, 
the invention of the art of printing, the labours of Lord Bacon in 
pointing out the true method of philosophizing, and the subse- 
quent discoveries of Galileo, Kepler, Boyle and Newton in the 
physical sciences, — gave a new and favourable impulse to the 
minds of men, and prepared the way for a more extensive com- 
munication of useful knowledge to persons of every rank. From 
this period knowledge began to be gradually diffused among most 
of the European nations ; but its progress was slow, and its in- 
fluence was chiefly confined to the higher circles ;>f society and 
to persons connected with the learned professions, till after the 
middle of the eighteenth century. About this time there began 
2 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

to issue from the press many popular works on Natural and Civil 
History] Geography. Astromonv and Experimental Philosophy, 
divested of the pedantry of former times, and of the technicali- 
ties of science, which, along with periodical works that were then 
beginning to extend their influence, conveyed to the minds of the 
mechanic and the artizan various fragments of useful knowledge. 
It was not, however, till the era of the French Revolution, that 
the stream of knowledge began to flow with an accelerated pro- 
gress, an to shed its influence more extensively on the middling 
and the lower orders of society. Though we cannot look back, 
without feelings of regret and even of horror, at the revolting 
scenes of anarchy and bloodshed which accompanied that political 
convulsion, yet, amidst all its evils, it was productive of many 
important and beneficial results. It tended to undermine that 
system of superstition and tyranny by which most of the European 
nations had been so long enslaved ; it roused millions, from among 
the mass of the people, to assert those rights and privileges, to 
which they are entitled as rational beings, and which had been 
withheld from them by the strong hand of power ; it stimulated 
them to investigations into every department connected with the 
rights and the happiness of man, and it excited a spirit of inquiry 
into every subject of contemplation which can improve or adorn 
the human mind, which, we trust, will never be extinguished, till 
the light of useful knowledge shall extend its influence over all 
the inhabitants of the earth. 

Striking, however, as the contrast is, between the state of know- 
ledge in the present and in former ages, much still remains to be 
accomplished, till the great body of mankind be stimulated to the 
prosecution of intellectual acquirements. Though a considerable 
lion of rational information has of late years been disseminated 
tong a variety of individuals in different classes of society, 
among the great majority of the population in every country, 
•ee of ignorance still prevails, degrading to the rank of in- 
tellectual natures. With respect to the great mass of the inhabi- 
tants of the world, it may still be said with propriety, that " dark- 
overs the earth, and gross darkness the people." The 
.iter part of the continent of America, the extensive plains 
Africa, the vast regions of Siberia, Tartary, Tibet, and 
the Turkish empire — the immense territories of New Holland, 
Sumatra, Borneo, and the Burman empire, the numerous islands 
which are scattered throughout thcTndian and the Pacific oceans, 
with many other exti naive regions inhabited by human beings — 
still lie within the confines of mental darkness. On the numerous 
a which people those imnu ose regions of our globe, neither 
tli' 4 light of science nor of Revelation has yet shed its benign in- 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

fluence ; and their minds, debased by superstition, idolatry, and 
every malignant passion, and enslaved by the cunning artifices 
of priests, and the tyranny of cruel despots, present a picture of 
human nature in its lowest stage of degradation. — Even in Europe, 
where the light of science has chiefly shone, how narrow is the 
circle which has been enlightened by its beams ! The lower orders 
of society on the continent, and even in Great Britain itself, not- 
withstanding the superior means of improvement they enjoy, are 
still miserably deficient in that degree of knowledge and informa- 
tion which every human being ought to possess ; nor are there 
many even in the higher spheres of life, who cultivate science for 
its own sake, who set a due value on intellectual acquisitions, or 
encourage the prosecution of rational inquiries. 

There is, perhaps, no country in the world where the body of 
the people are better educated and more intelligent than in North 
Britain ; yet we need not go far, either in the city or in the country, 
to be convinced, that the most absurd and superstitious notions, 
and the grossest ignorance respecting many important subjects 
intimately connected with human happiness, still prevail among 
the great majority of the population. Of two millions of inhabi- 
tants which constitute the population of the northern part of our 
island, there are not, perhaps, 20,000, or the hundredth part of the 
whole, whose knowledge extends to any subject of importance, 
beyond the range of their daily avocations. With respect to the 
remaining 1,800,000, it may perhaps be said with propriety, that 
of the figure and magnitude of the world they live in — of the seas 
and rivers, continents and islands, which diversify its surface, 
and of the various tribes of men and animals by which it is inha- 
bited — of the nature and properties of the atmosphere which sur- 
rounds them — of the discoveries which have been made respecting 
light, heat, electricity and magnetism — of the general laws which 
regulate the economy of nature — of the various combinations and 
effects of chemical and mechanical powers — of the motions and 
magnitudes of the planetary and the starry orbs — of the principles 
of legitimate reasoning— of just conceptions of the attributes and 
moral government of the Supreme Being — of the genuine princi- 
ples of moral action — of many other subjects interesting to a ra- 
tional and immortal being — they are almost as entirely ignorant as 
the wandering Tartar, or the untutored Indian. 

Of eight hundred millions of human beings which people the 
globe we inhabit, there are not perhaps two millions whose minds 
are truly enlightened as they ought to be — who prosecute rational 
pursuits for their own sake, and from a pure love of science in- 
dependently of the knowledge requisite for their respective pro- 
fessions and employments. For, we must exclude from the rank 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

of rational inquirers after knowledge, all those who have acquired 
a Smattering of learning, with no other view than to gain a subsis- 
tence, or to appear fashionable and polite. And, it* this rule be 
admitted, I am afraid that a goodly number even of lawyers, phy- 
sicians, clergymen, teachers, nay, even some authors, and profes- 
sors in universities and academies, would be struck off from the 
list of lovers of science and rational inquirers after truth. Ad- 
mitt ing this statement, it will follow, that there is not one indivi- 
dual out of four hundred of the human race, that passes his life as 
a rational intelligent being, employing his faculties in those trains 
of thought and active exercises which are worthy of an intellec- 
tual nature ! For, in so far as the intention of mankind is absorbed 
merely in making provision for animal subsistence, and in gra- 
tifying the sensual appetites of their nature, they can be consi- 
dered as little superior in dignity to the lower orders of animated 
existence. 

The late Frederick, king of Prussia, who was a correct obser- 
ver of mankind, makes a still lower estimate of the actual intelli- 
gence of the human species. In a letter to D'Alembert, in 1770, 
he says, " Let us take any monarchy you please ; — let us suppose 
that it contains ten millions of inhabitants ; from these ten millions 
let us discount, — first the labourers, the manufacturers, the artizans, 
the soldiers, and there will remain about fifty thousand persons, 
men and women ; from these let us discount twenty-five thousand 
for the female sex, the rest will compose the nobility and gentry, 
and the respectable citizens ; of these, let us examine how many 
will be incapable of application, how many imbecile, how many 
pusillanimous, how many dissipated, — and from this calcuation it 
will result, that out of what is called a civilized nation of nearly 
ten millions, you will hardly find a thousand well-informed persons, 
and even among them what inequality with regard to genius ! 
If eight-tenths of the nation, toiling for their subsistence, never 
read — if another tenth are incapable of application, from frivolity, 
or dissipation, or imbecility, — it results, that the small share of 
good ^c\\<(^ of which our species is capable, can only reside in a 
small fraction of a nation." Such was the estimate made by this 
philosophic monarch of the intelligence possessed by the nations 
of Europe, sixty years ago ; and although society has considerably 
advanced in intellectual acquisitions since that period, the great 
body of the people, in every country, is still shrouded in the midst 
of folly and ignorance. 

Such a picture of the intellectual state of mankind must, when 
seriously considered, excite a melancholy train of reflections in 
the breast both of the philanthropist and the man of science. That 
Buch a vast assemblage of beings furnished with powers capable 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

of investigating the laws of nature, — of determining the arrange- 
ment, the motions, and magnitudes of distant worlds, — of weighing 
the masses of the planets, — of penetrating into the distant regions 
of the universe, — of arresting the lightning in its course, — of ex- 
ploring the pathless ocean, and the region of the clouds, — and of 
rendering the most stubborn elements of nature subservient to 
their designs : — that beings, capable of forming a sublime inter- 
course with the Creator himself, and of endless progression in 
knowledge and felicity, should have their minds almost wholly ab- 
sorbed in eating and drinking, in childish and cruel sports and 
diversions, and in butchering one another, seems, at first view, a 
tacit reflection on the wisdom of the Creator, in bestowing on our 
race such noble powers, and plainly indicates, that the current of 
human intellect has widely deviated from its pristine course, and 
that strong and reiterated efforts are now requisite to restore it to 
its original channel. Every lover of science and of mankind 
must, therefore, feel interested in endeavouring to remove those 
obstructions which have impeded the progress of useful know- 
ledge, and to direct the intellectual energies of his fellow-men to 
the prosecution of objects worthy of the high station they hold in 
the scale of existence. 

Were we to inquire into the external causes which have retard- 
ed the progress of the human mind, we should, doubtless, find 
them existing in the nature of those civil governments which have 
most generally prevailed in the world, and in several of the eccle- 
siastical establishments which have been incorporated witlTthem. 
It has been a favourite maxim with ail tyrants, that the people must 
be kept in ignorance ; and hence we find, that in the empires of 
the East, which are all of a despotical nature, the people are de- 
barred from the temple of science, and sunk into a state of the 
grossest ignorance and servility. Under such governments, the 
minds of men sink into apathy, — the sparks of genius are smoth- 
ered, — the sciences are neglected, — ignorance is honoured, — and 
the man of discernment who dares to vent his opinions, is proscribed 
as an enemy to the state. In the more enlightened governments 
on the continent of Europe, the same effects have followed, in pro- 
portion to the number of those tyrannical maxims and principles 
which enter into their constitution. Hence we may frequently 
determine the degree of mental illumination which prevails among 
any people, from a consideration of the nature of the government 
under which they live. For the knowledge of a people is always 
in proportion to their liberty, and where the spirit of liberty is eithei 
crushed or shackled, the energies of the human mind will nevei 
be exerted with vigour, in the acquisition or the propagation of 
literature and science. Even in the mildest and most enlightened 
2* 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

governments of modern Europe, the instruction of the general mass 
of society forms no prominent feature in their administration. 
Knowledge on general subjects is simply permitted to be dissemi- 
nated among the people ; its promoters are not sufficiently patro- 
nized and encouraged, — no funds are regularly appropriated for 
this purpose 4 , — and its utility, in many instances, is even called in 
question. It is to be hoped, however, now that the din of war is, 
in some measure, hushed, that the attention of princes and their 
ministers will be more particularly directed to this important 
object : for it might easily be shown, were it necessary, that an 
enlightened population is the most solid basis of a good govern- 
ment, and the greatest security for its permanence, — that it will 
always form the strongest bulwark around eveiy throne where the 
sceptre is swayed by wisdom and rectitude. — That the establish- 
ment of the Popish religion in any state has a tendency to impede 
the progress of knowledge, it would be almost needless to illus- 
trate. The mummeries which have been interwoven with its 
services, the grovelling and superstitious notions which it has en- 
gendered, the ignorance which prevails among the population of 
all those countries over which its influence extends, the alarms of 
its priestly abettors at the idea of free discussion, and of enlight- 
ening the minds of the people, the records of its Inquisitions, 
the history of the dark ages, when it prevailed in all its rigour, 
and the recent experience of our own times, show, that it is a sys- 
tem founded on the darkness and imbecility of the human intellect, 
and can flourish only where the spirit of liberty has fled, and where 
reason has lost its ascendency in the minds of men.* 

"With regard to the internal causes of the ignorance which so 
generally prevails, they will be found in the general depravity 
of human nature ; in the vicious propensities so prevalent among 
all ranks ; in the indulgence of inordinate desires after riches 
and power ; and in the general disposition of mankind to place 
their chief happiness in sensual gratifications, — evils which the 
spirit of Christianity only in conjunction with every rational exer- 
tion, is calculated fully to eradicate. And therefore, it is indis- 
pensable, that every attempt to diffuse intellectual light over the 
human race be accompanied with the most strenuous exertions to 
promote the moral renovation of mankind. For vice and igno- 

* Let it be carefully remembered, that in these remarks, it is merely the 
system of popery to which the author refers. He is aware that many indivi- 
duals, distinguished for learning and r.iety, have been connected, with the 
Romish church ; and while he condemns the spirit and tendency of the pecu- 
liar i and practices of that church, he deprecates every idea of per- 
secution, and every attempt to deprive its members of those rights and privi- 
.eges to which they are entitled as men and as citizens. 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

ranee, especially among the lower orders, generally go hand in 
hand ; and experience demonstrates, that indulgence in evil pas- 
sions, and in unhallowed gratifications, destroys the relish for 
mental enjoyments, and is one of the most powerful obstructions 
to the vigourous exercise of the intellectual powers. 

That the general diffusion of knowledge among all ranks is an 
object much to be desired, will not, I presume, be called in question 
by any one who regards the intellectual powers of man as the 
noblest part of his nature, — and who considers, that on the ration- 
al exercise of these powers his true happiness depends. If igno- 
rance be one of the chief causes which disturb the harmonious 
movements of the machine of society, by removing the cause we 
of course prevent the effects ; and if knowledge be one of the 
mainsprings of virtuous conduct, the more it is diffused, the more 
extensively will be brought into action, on the stage of life, those 
virtues which it has a tendency to produce. A few Ferdinands, 
and TVindhams and Don Miguels may still remain, who regard 
the great mass of the people merely as subjects of legislation, or 
as the tools of tyranny and ambition, and that, therefore, they must 
be held in the chains of ignorance, lest they should aspire to the 
ranks of their superiors. But the general current of public 
opinion now runs counter to such illiberal and antiquated notions ; 
and few persons of respectability, at least in this country, would 
hazard their reputation in defending a position so degrading and 
untenable. The more learning a people have, the more virtuous, 
powerful and happy will they become ; and to ignorance alone 
must the contrary effects be imputed. " There is but one case," 
says a French writer, " where ignorance can be desirable ; and 
that is, when all is desperate in a state, and when, through the 
present evils, others still greater appear behind. Then stupidity is 
a blessing : knowledge and foresight are evils. It is then that, 
shutting our eyes against the light, we would hide from ourselves 
the calamities we cannot prevent." In every other case, know- 
ledge must prove an inestimable blessing to men of every nation 
and of every rank. 

That the period when a general diffusion of knowledge shall 
take place is hastening on, appears from the rapid progress which 
has been made in almost every department of science during the 
last half century ; from the numerous publications on all subjects 
daily issuing from the press; from the rapid increase of theological, 
literary and scientific journals, and the extensive patronage they 
enjoy ; from the numerous lectures on chemistry, astronomy, expe- 
rimental philosophy, political economy, and general science, now 
delivered in the principal cities and towns of Europe ; from the 
doption of new and improved plans of public instruction, and the 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

erection of new seminaries of education in almost every quarter of 
the civilized world ; from the extrusive circulation of books among 
all classes of the community; from the rapid formation of Bible 
and Missionary societies ; from the increase of literary and philoso- 
phical associations ; from the establishment of mechanics' institu- 
tions in our principal towns, and of libraries and reading societies 
in almost every village; from the eager desire now excited, even 
among the lower orders of society, of becoming acquainted with 
subjects hitherto known and cultivated only by persons of the learn- 
ed professions ; and, above all, from the spirit of civil and religious 
liberty now bursting forth, both in the Eastern and the Western 
hemispheres, notwithstanding the efforts of petty tyrants to arrest 
its progress. Amidst the convulsions which have lately shaken 
the surrounding nations, "many have run to and fro, and knowledge 
has been increased ;" the sparks of liberty have been struck from 
the collision of hostile armies and opposing interests ; and a spirit 
of inquiry has been excited among numerous tribes of mankind, 
which will doubtless lead to the most important results. These 
circumstances, notwithstanding some gloomy appearances in the 
political horizon, may be considered as so many preludes of a new 
and happier era about to dawn upon the world ; when intellectual 
light shall be diffused among all ranks, and in every region of the 
globe, when Peace shall extend her empire over the world ; — when 
men of all nations, at present separated from each other by the 
effects of ignorance, and of political jealousies, shall be united by 
the bonds of love, of reason, and intelligence, and conduct them- 
selves as rational and immortal beings. 

In order that such a period may be gradually ushered in, it is 
essentially requisite that a conviction of the utility and importance 
of a general diffusion of knowledge be impressed upon the minds 
of the more intelligent and influential classes of society, and that 
every exertion and every appropriate mean should be used to ac- 
complish this desirable object. In accordance with this idea, I 
shall endeavour, in the following work, 

I. To illustrate the advantages which would flow from a gene- 
ral diffusion of useful knowledge among all ranks, — and shall 

How out. the investigation, by 

II. An inquiry into the means, requisite to be used in order to 

ish this important object.* 



tkmlaf illustration of the means by which a general diffusion of 
knowiofl: (Tected, would render the pros en:, work loo bulky, — 

this department of the subject will be prosecuted in a separate volume. 



ON THE 



GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



PART I. 



On the Advantages ivliich would flow from a General Diffusion 

of Knowledge. 

That the intellectual faculties of man have never been thoroughly 
directed to the pursuit of objects worthy of the dignity of rational 
and immortal natures — and that the most pernicious effects have 
flowed from the perversion of their mental powers, — are truths 
which the history of past ages, and our own experience, too 
plainly demonstrate. That the state of general society would be 
greatly meliorated, were the mi3fetjfof ignorance dispelled, and 
the current of human thought directed into a proper channel, 
might appear, were we to take an extensive survey of the evils 
which have been produced by ignorance, and its necessary con- 
mitants, — and of the opposite effects which would flow from 
mental illumination, in relation to all those subjects connected 
with the improvement and the happiness of our species. Here, 
however, a field of vast extent opens to view, which would require 
several volumes fully to describe and illustrate : I shall, therefore, 
in the mean time, select, from the multitude of objects which crowd 
upon the view, only a few prominent particulars, — the elucidation- 
of which shall ocupy the following sections. 



SECTION I. 

On the Influence which a General Diffusion of Knowledge would 
have in Dissipating those Superstitious Notions and Vain 
Fears ivhich have so long enslaved the JMinds of Men. 

My first proposition is, that the diffusion of knowledge would 
undermine the fabric of superstition, and remove those groundless 
fears to which superstitious notions give rise. — Ignorance has not 



22 ON Till: GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Tin* Auroi ties, or Northern Lights. 



only debarred mankind from many exquisite and sublime enjoy- 
ments, hut has created innumerable unfounded . alarms which 
greatly increase the sum of human misery. Man is naturally 
timid, terrified at those dangers whose consequences he cannot 
foresee, and at those uncommon appearances of nature whose 
cans.'.- he has never explored. Thus, he is led, in many instances, 
to regard with appn i and dread, those operations of nature 

which are the result of regular and invariable laws. Under the 
influence of such timid emotions, the phenomena of nature, both 
in the heavens and on the earth, have been arrayed with imagina- 
ry terrors. In the early ages of the world, a total eclipse o{ the 
sun or of the moon was regarded with the utmost consternation, as 
if some dismal catastrophe had been about to befall the universe. 
Believing that the moon in an eclipse was sickening or dying 
through the influence of enchanters, the trembling spectators had 
recourse to the ringing of bells, the sounding of trumpets, the beating 
of brazen vessels, and to loud and horrid exclamations, in order 
to break the enchantment, and to drown the muttering of witches 
that the moon might not hear them. In allusion to this practice, 
Juvenal, when speaking of a loud scolding woman, says, that she 
was able to relieve the moon. 

" Forbear your drums and trumpets if you please, 
Her voice alone the labouring moon can ease." 

]Vor are such foolish opinions and customs yet banished from the 
world. They are said to be still prevalent in several Mahometan and 
Pagan countries.* Comets too, with their blazing tails, were long 
rded, and still are, by the vulgar, as harbingers of Divine 
ance, presaging famines and inundations, or the downfall of 
princes and the destruction of empires. | The Auroras Boreales, 
or northern lights, have been frequently ga,zed at with similar ap- 
prehensions, and whole provinces have been thrown into conster- 
nation by the fantastic corruscations of those lambent meteors. 
Some pretend to see, in these harmless lights, armies mixing in 
fierce encounter, and fields streaming with blood ; others behold* 
states overthrown, earthquakes, inundations, pestilences, and the 
most dreadful calamities. Because some one or other of these 
calamities formerly happened soon after the appearance of a comet, 
or the blaze of an aurora, therefore they are considered either as 
the causes or the prognostics of such events. 

From the same source have arisen those foolish notions, so 
fatal to the peace of mankind, which have been engendered by 

See Appendix, No, II. t Ibid. 



ABSURDITY OF ASTROLOGY. 23 

Saturn and Jupiter. 

judicial astrology. Under a belief that the characters and the fates 
of men are dependent on the various aspects of the stars, and con- 
junctions of the planets, the most unfounded apprehensions, as 
well as the most delusive hopes, have been excited by the profes- 
sors of this fallacious science. Such impositions on the credulity 
of mankind are founded on the grossest absurdity, and the most 
palpable ignorance of the nature of things ; for since the aspects 
and conjunctions of the celestial bodies have, in every period of 
duration, been subject to invariable laws, they must be altogether 
inadequate to account for the diversified phenomena of the moral 
world, and for that infinite variety we observe in the dispositions 
and the destinies of men ; and, indeed, the single consideration of 
the immense distances of the stars from our globe, is sufficient to 
convince any rational mind that their influence can have no effect 
on a region so remote from the spaces which they occupy. The 
planetary bodies, indeed, may, in certain cases, have some degree 
of physical influence on the earth, by virtue of their attractive 
power, but that influence can never affect the operation of moral 
causes, or the qualities of the mind. Even although it were ad- 
mitted that the heavenly bodies have an influence over the destinies 
•)f the human race, yet we have no data whatever by which to ascer- 
tain the mode of its operation, or to determine the formula or rules 
by which calculations are to be made, in order to predict the fates 
of nations, or the individual temperaments and destinies of men ; 
and consequently, the principles and rules on which astrologers 
proceed in constructing horoscopes, and calculating nativities, are 
nothing else than mere assumptions, and their pretensions nothing 
short of criminal impositions upon the credulity of mankind. 
With equally the same reason might we assert, that the earth, in 
different positions in its orbit, would have an influence in produ- 
cing fools and maniacs in the planet Jupiter, or in exciting wars 
and insurrections among the inhabitants of Saturn, as to suppose, 
with Mr. Yarly, the prince of modern astrologers, that " Saturn 
passing through the ascendant causes dulness and melancholy 
for a few weeks," and that" Jupiter, in the third house, gives 
safe inland journies and agreeable neighbours or kindred." 

Notwithstanding the absurdity of the doctrines of astrology, 
this art has been practised in every period of time. Among the 
Romans, the people were so infatuated with it, that the astrologers, 
or, as they were then called, the mathematicians, maintained their 
ground in spite of all the edicts of the emperors to expel them 
from from the capital ; and after they were at length expelled by 
a formal decree of the senate, they found so much protection from 
the credulity of the people, that they still remained in Rome un- 



24 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Prevalence of Astrology. 



molested. Among the Chaldeans, the Assyrians, the Egyptians, 
the Greeks, and the Arabians, in ancient times, astrology was 
Uniformly included in the list of the sciences, and used as one 
species of divination by which they attempted to pry into the secrets 
of futurity. The Brahmins, in India, at an early period, intro- 
duced this art into that country, and, bymeans of it, haverendered 
themselves the arbiters of good and evil hours, and of the fortunes 
ot* their fellow-men, and have thus raised themselves to great autho- 
rity and influence among the illiterate multitude. They are con- 
sulted as oracles, and, like all other impostors, they have taken 
great care never to sell their answers without a handsome remu- 
neration. In almost every country in the world this art is still 
practised, and only a short period has elasped since the princes 
and legislators of Europe were directed in the most important con- 
cerns of the state by the predictions of astrologers. In the time 
of Queen Catherine de Medicis, astrology was so much in vogue, 
that nothing, however trifling, was to be done without consulting 
the stars. The astrologer Morin, in the seventeenth century, di- 
n-o*ed Cardinal Richelieu's motions in some of his journeys, and 
Louisa Maria de Gonzaga, Queen of Poland, gave 2000 crowns 
to carry on an edition of his Astrologia Gallica ; and in the reigns 
of Henry the Third and Henry the Fourth of France, the predic- 
tions of astrologers were the common theme of the court conver- 
sation. Even in the present day, and in the metropolis of the 
British empire, this fallacious art is practised, and its professors 
are resorted to for judicial information, not only by the vulgar, but 
even by many in the higher spheres of life. The extensive annual 
sale of more than 240,000 copies of" Moore's Almanack," which 
abounds with such predictions, and of similar publications, is a 
striking proof of the belief which is still attached to the doctrines 
of astrology in our own age and country, and of the ignorance and 
credulity from which such a belief proceeds.* Parhelia, parselenae, 
shooting stars, fiery meteors, luminous arches, lunar rainbows, 
and other atmospherical phenomena, have likewise been consider- 
ed by some as ominous of impending calamities. 

Such are some of the objects in the heavens, which ignorance 
and Bupersition have arrayed with imaginary terrors. 

* That the absurdities of astrology arc still in vogue among a certain class, 
appears from the publication of such works as the following: — " ATreatise 
on Zodiacal Physiognomy, illustrated by engravings of heads and feature?, 
and accompanied by tables ofthe times of the rising of the twelve signs of the 
Zodiac, and containing also new astrological explanations of some remarka- 
ble portions of ancient mythological history. By John Varly. No. I., large 
8vo., pp. 60, to be comprised in four parts. Longman and Co. 1828 !" 



OMENS. 25 



Objects of groundless Fears. 



On the earth, the objects which have given rise to groundless 
fears, are almost innumerable. The ignes fatui, those harmless 
meteors which hover above moist and fenny places in the night- 
time, and emit a glimmering light, have been regarded as mali- 
cious spirits, endeavouring to deceive the bewildered traveller, 
and lead him to destruction. The ticking noise of the little 
insect called the death-watch — a screech owl screaming at the 
window — a raven croaking over a house — a dog howling in the 
night-time — a hare or a sow crossing the road — the meeting of a 
bitch with whelps, or a snake lying in the road — the falling of 
salt from a table — and even the curling of a fibre of tallow in 
a burning candle,* have been regarded with apprehensions of 
terror, as prognostics of impending disasters, or of approaching 
death. 

In the Highlands of Scotland, the motions and appearances of 
the clouds were, not long ago, considered as ominous of disastrous 
events. On the evening before new year's day, if a black cloud 
appeared in any part of the horizon, it was thought to prognosti- 
cate a plague, a famine, or the death of some great man in that 
part of the country over which it seemed to hang ; and in order 
to ascertain the place threatened by the omen, the motions of the 
clouds were often watched through the whole night. In the same 
country, the inhabitants regard certain days as unlucky, or ominous 
of bad fortune. That day of the week on which the 3d of 
May falls, is deemed unlucky throughout the whole year. In the 
isle of Mull, ploughing, sowing, and reaping, are always begun 
on Tuesday, though the most favourable weather for these pur- 
poses be in this way frequently lost. In Morven, none will, upon 
any account, dig peat or turf for fuel on Friday. The age of the 
moon is also much attended to by the vulgar Highlanders ; and 
an opinion prevails, that if a house take fire while the moon is in 
the decrease, the family will from that time decline in its circum- 
stances, and sink into poverty.^ 

In England, it is reckoned a bad omen to break a looking-glass, 
as it is believed the party to whom it belongs will lose his best 
friend. In going a journey, if a sow cross the road, it is believed 
the party will meet either with a disappointment or a bodily accident 
before returning home. It is reckoned unlucky to see first one 
magpie, and then another ; and to kill a magpie, it is believed, will 



specimen of some of the fooleries and absurdities gravely treated on by 
this sapient author, will be found in Nos.UI. and IV. of the Appendix to this 
volume. 

* Called in Scotland, the dead speed. 

t Encyclopaedic Britannica, Art Omen. 
3 



26 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Augustus a believer in Omens. 

• — 

certainly be punished with some terrible misfortune. If a person 
meet a funeral procession, it is considered necessary always to 
take off the hat, which keeps all the evil spirits that attend the 
body, in ^ood humour. If in eating, a person miss his mouth, 
and the victuals fall, it is reckoned very unlucky, and ominous 
of approaching sickness. It is also considered as unlucky to 
present a knife, scissors, razor, or any sharp cutting instrument, 
to one's mistress or friend, as they are apt to cut love and friend- 
ship ; and to find a knife or razor, denotes ill luck or disappoint- 
ment to the party. 

Among the ancient nations, there was hardly any circumstance 
or occurrence, however trivial, from which they did not draw 
omens. This practice appears to have taken its rise in Egypt, 
the parent country of almost every superstition of paganism ; 
but, from whatever source it may have derived its origin, it spread 
itself over the whole inhabited globe, even among the most civiliz- 
ed nations, and at this day it prevails more or less among the 
vulgar in every country. Even kings and emperors, sages and 
heroes, have been seized with alarm at the most trivial circum- 
stances, which they were taught to consider as ominous of bad 
fortune, or of impending danger. Suetonius says of Augustus, 
that he believed implicitly in certain omens ; and that, si mane 
sibi calceus perperam, ac sinister pro dexter 'o inducer 'eter, ut dirnm, 
" if his shoes were improperly put on in the morning, especially 
if the left shoe was put upon his right foot, he held it for a bad 
omen." 

Thus it appears, that the luminaries of heaven, the clouds, and 
other meteors that float in the atmosphere, the actions of animals, 
the seasons of the year, the days of the week, the most trivial 
incidents in human life, and many other circumstances, have af- 
forded matter of false alarm to mankind. But this is not all : 
Man, ever prone to disturb his own peace, notwithstanding the 
real evils he is doomed to suffer, has been ingenious enough to 
form imaginary monsters which have no existence, either in 
heaven or on earth, nor the least foundation in the scenes of exter- 
nal nature. He has not only drawn false conclusions from the 
objects which have a real existence, to increase his fears ; but has 
created in his imagination, an ideal world, and peopled it with 
spectres, hobgoblins, fairies, satyrs, imps, wraiths, genii, brownies, 
witches, wizards, and other fantastical beings, to whose caprices 
ne believes his happiness and misery are subjected. An old| 
wrinkled hag is supposed to have the power of rendering misera- 
ble all around her, who are the objects of her hatred. In herl 
privy chamber, it is believed, she can roast and torment the absent, 



SUPERNATURAL AGENTS. 27 

Ghosts and Fairies. 

and inflict incurable disorders both on man and beast ; * she can 
transport herself through the air on a spit or a broomstick ; or, 
when it serves her purpose, she can metamorphose herself into a 
cat or a hare ; and, by shaking a bridle over a person asleep, can 
transform him into a horse ; and, mounted on this new-created 
steed, can traverse the air on the wings of the wind, and visit 
distant countries in the course of a night. A certain being called 
a fairy, though supposed to be at least two or three feet high, is 
believed to have the faculty of contracting its body, so as to pass 
through the key-hole of a door ; and though they are a distinct 
species of beings from man, they have a strong fancy for children ; 
and hence, in the Highlands of Scotland, new-born infants are 
watched till the christening is over, lest they should be stolen or 
exchanged by those fantastic existences. The regions of the 
air have been peopled with apparitions and terrific phantoms of 
different kinds, which stalk abroad at the dead hour of night, to ter- 
rify the lonely traveller. In ruined castles and old houses, they 
are said to announce their appearance by a variety of loud and 
dreadful noises ; sometimes rattling in the old hall like a coach 
and six, and rumbling up and down the staircase like the trundling 
of bowls or cannon balls. Especially in lonely church-yards, in 
retired caverns, in deep forests and dells, horrid sounds are said to 
have been heard, and monstrous shapes to have appeared, by 
which whole villages have been thrown into consternation, f 

* The reader will find abundance of relations of this kind, in " Satan's 
invisible world discovered," — a book which was long read with avidity by the 
vulgar in this country, and which has frequently caused emotions of terror 
among youthful groups on winter evenings, while listening to its fearful rela- 
tions, which could never be eradicated, and has rendered them cowards in the 
dark, during all the subsequent periods of their lives. 

f That many of the superstitious opinions and practices above alluded to, 
still prevail even within the limits of the British empire, appears from the fol- 
lowing extract from the " Monthly Magazine" for July 1813, p. 496.—" In 
Staffordshire, they burn a calf in a farm house alive, to prevent the other calves 
from dying. In the same county, a woman having kept a toad in a pot in 
her garden, her husband killed it, and she reproached him for it, saying, she in- 
tended the next Sunday to have taken the sacrament, for the purpose of get- 
ting some of the bread to feed him with, and make him thereby a valuable 
familiar spirit to her. At Long Ashton, a young farmer has several times 
predicted his own end, from what he calls being looked over; and his mo- 
ther and father informed a friend of mine, (says the re later) that they 
had sent to the White Witch Doctor, beyond Bridge Water, by the coach- 
man, for a charm to cure him, (having paid handsomely for it) ; but that 
he had now given him over, as her spells were more potent than his. If not 
dead, he is dying of mere fear, and all the parish of his class believe it. — 
There is also, in that parish, an old man who sells gingerbread to the schools, 
who is always employed to cure the red water in cows, by means of charms 
and verses which he says to them. In the Marsh, we have water doctors. 



28 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Absurd Notions of learned Men. 



Nor have such absurd notions been confined to the illiterate vul- 
gar ; men of considerable acquirements in literature, from ignorance 
of the laws of nature, have fallen into the same delusions. For- 
merly a man who was endowed with considerable genius and know- 
ledge, was reckoned a magician. Doctor Bartolo was seized by 
the Inquisition at Rome, in the sixteenth century, because he un- 
expectedly cured a nobleman of the gout ; and the illustrious Friar 
Bacon, because he was better acquainted with experimental philoso- 
phy than most persons of the age in which he lived, was suspected, 
even by the learned ecclesiastics, of having dealings with the devil. 
Diseases were at those times imputed to fascination, and hun- 
dreds of poor wretches were dragged to the stake for being acces- 
sory to them. Mercatus, physician to Philip II. of Spain, relates, 
that he had seen a very beautiful woman break a steel mirror to 
pieces, and blast some trees by a single glance of her eyes ! Jo- 
sephus relates, that he saw a certain Jew, named Eleazar, draw 
the devil out of an old woman's nostrils, by the application of 
Solomon's seal to her nose, in the presence of Vespasian. Dr. 
Mynsight is said to have cured several bewitched persons with a 
plaster of assafcetida. How the assafcetida was efficacious, was 
much disputed among the learned. Some thought the devil might 
consider such an application as an insult, and ran off in a passion ; 
but others very sagely observed, that as devils were supposed to 
have eyes and ears, it w T as probable they might have noses too. 
James VI. who was famed for his polemics and theological acquire- 
ments, wrote a treatise in defence of witchcraft, and persecuted 
those who opposed his opinions on this subject. The pernicious 
effects in mines, occasioned by the explosion of hydrogen gas, 
were formerly imputed to the demons of the mine. Van Helmont, 
Bodinus, Strozza, and Luther, attributed thunder and meteors to 
the devil. Socrates believed he was guided by a demon. Dr. 
Cudworth, Glanvil and others, wrote in defence of witchcraft and 
apparitions. But it would be endless to detail all the foolish 
opinions which have been imbibed and propagated even by men 
who pretended to genius and learning. 

Besides the opinions to which I have now adverted, and which 

who get rich; at the mines, diviners with rods, who find ores and water; 
and fit Weston-super-Mare, they sec lights before funerals, and are agreed 
that the people in thai parish always die by threes, i. e. three old, three young-, 
three men, three women, &C Such are a part only of the superstitions of 
the West in 1813!" 

Every one who IS much conversant with the lower ranks of society, will 
find, that such notions are -till current and believed by a considerable por- 
tion of the population, which is the only apology that can be made for stating 
and counteracting such opinions. 



ABSURDITY OF SUPERSTITION. • 29 

Foolish Opinions. 



have a direct tendency to fill the mind with unnecessary appre- 
hensions, there is also an immense variety of foolish and erroneous 
opinions which pass current for genuine truths among a great ma- 
jority of mankind. That a man has one rib less than a woman, — 
that there is a certain Jew still alive, who has wandered through 
the world since the crucifixion of Christ, — that the coffin of Ma- 
homet is suspended in the air between two load-stones, — that the 
city of Jerusalem is in the centre of the world, — that the tenth 
wave of the sea is greater and more dangerous than all the rest, — 
that all animals on the land have their corresponding kinds in the 
sea, — that there is a white powder which kills without giving a 
report, — that the blood of a goat will dissolve a diamond, — that 
all the stars derive their light from the sun, — that a candle made 
of human fat, when lighted, will prevent a person asleep from 
awaking, with many other similar unfounded positions, — are re- 
garded as indisputable truths by thousands, whose adherence to 
tradition and authority, and whose indolence and credulity prevent 
them from inquiring, with a manly independence, into the true state 
and nature of things. 

Such are a few, and but a very few, of the superstitious notions 
and vain fears by which the great majority of the human race, in 
every age and country, has been enslaved. To have attempted a 
complete enumeration of such hallucinations of the human intellect, 
would have been vain, and could only have produced satiety and 
disgust. That such absurd notions should ever have prevailed, 
is a most grating and humiliating thought, when we consider the 
ooble faculties with which man is endowed. That they still pre- 
vail, in a great measure, even in our own country, is a striking 
proof, that, we are, as yet, but just emerging from the gloom of 
intellectual darkness. The prevalence of such opinions is to be 
regretted, not only on account, of the groundless alarms they 
create, but chiefly on account of the false ideas they inspire with 
regard to the nature of the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and 
of his arrangements in the government of the world. While a 
man, whose mind is enlightened with true science, perceives 
throughout all nature the most striking evidences of benevolent 
design, and rejoices in the benignity of the Great Parent of the 
universe, — while he perceives nothing in the arrangements of the 
Creator, in any department of his works, which has a direct ten- 
dency to produce pain to any intelligent or sensitive existence, — 
the superstitious man, on the contrary, Contemplates the sky, the 
air, the w r aters, and the earth, as filled with malicious beings, ever 
ready to haunt him with terror, or to plot his destruction. The 
one contemplates the Deity directing the movements of the mate- 






30 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDc. 

Ertects of Superstition. 



rial world, by fixed and invariable laws, which none but himself 
can counteract or suspend ; the oilier views them as continually 
liable to be controlled by capricious and malignant beings, to gra- 
tify the most trivia] and unworthy passions. How very different, 
of course, must be their conceptions and feelings respecting the 
attributes and government of the Supreme Being ! While the 
one views Him as an infinitely wise and benevolent Father, whose 
paternal care and goodness inspire confidence and affection; the 
other must regard him, in a certain degree, as a capricious being, 
and offer up his adorations under the influence of fear. 

Such notions have likewise an evident tendency to habituate the 
mind to false principles and processes of reasoning, which unfit it 
for forming legitimate conclusions in its researches after truth. — 
They chain down the understanding, and sink it into the most 
abject and sordid state ; and prevent it from rising to those noble 
and enlarged views which revelation and modern science exhibit, 
of the order, the extent, and the economy of the universe. It is 
lamentable to reflect, that so many thousands of beings endowed 
with the faculty of reason, who cannot by any means be persuaded 
of the motion of the earth, and the distances and magnitudes of 
the celestial bodies, should swallow, without the least hesitation, 
opinions ten thousand times more improbable ; and find no diffi- 
culty in believing that an old woman can transform herself into a 
hare and wing her way through the air on a broomstick. 

But what is worst of all, such notions almost invariably lead to 
the perpetration of deeds of cruelty and injustice. Of the truth of 
this position, the history of almost every nation affords the most 
ample proof. Many of the barbarities committed in Pagan coun- 
tries, both in their religious worship and their civil polity, and most 
of the cruelties inflicted on the victims of the Romish inquisition, 
have flowed from this source.* Nor are the annals of our own 
country deficient in examples of this kind : The belief attached 
to the doctrine of witchcraft, led our ancestors, little more than a 
century ago, to condemn and to burn at the stake hundreds of 
unhappy women, accused of crimes of which they could not pos- 
sibly have been guilty.| In New England, about the year 1692, 

* In the Duchy of Lorraine, 900 females were delivered over to the flames, 
for being witches, by nno inquisitor alone. Under this accusation, it is reckon- 
ed that upwards of thirty thousand women have perished by the hands of the In- 
. •-•' Inquisition Unmasked," by Pui^blanch. 

t The Boots appear to have displayed a more than ordinary zeal against 
•rit bes, and it is Baid that more deranged old women were condemned for this 
imaginary crime in Scotland, than in any other country. So late as 1722, a 
poor woman was burnt for witchcraft, which was among the last executions 
in Scotland. A variety uf curious particulars in relation to the trials of 



CRUELTY OF SUPERSTITION. 31 



Witchcraft in New-England. 



a witchcraft phrenzy rose to such excess as to produce commotions 
and calamities more dreadful than the scourge of war or the de- 
stroying pestilence. There lived in the town of Salem, in that 
country, two young women, who were subject to convulsions, ac- 
companied with extraordinary symptoms. Their father, minister 
of the church, supposing they were bewitched, cast his suspicions 
upon an Indian girl, who lived in the house, whom he compelled, 
by harsh treatment, to confess that she was a witch. Other women, 
on hearing this, immediately believed that the convulsions, which 
proceeded only from the nature of their sex, were owing to the 
same cause. Three citizens casually named, were immediately 
thrown into prison, accused of witchcraft, hanged, and their bodies 
left exposed to wild beasts and birds of prey. A few days after, 
sixteen other persons, together with a counsellor, who, because he 
refused to plead against them, was supposed to share in their 
guilt, suffered in the same manner. From this instant, the ima- 
gination of the multitude was inflamed with these horrid and 
gloomy scenes. Children of ten years of age were put to death, 
young girls were stripped naked, and the marks of witchcraft 
searched for upon their bodies with the most indecent curiosity ; 
and those spots of the scurvy which age impresses upon the bodies 
of old men, were taken for evident signs of infernal power. In 
default of these, torments were employed to extort confessions, 
dictated by the executioners themselves. For such fancied crimes, 
the offspring of superstition alone, they were imprisoned, tortured, 
murdered, and their bodies devoured by the beasts of prey. If 
the magistrates, tired out with executions, refused to punish, they 
were themselves accused of the crimes they tolerated ; the very 
ministers of religion raised false witnesses against them, who made 
them forfeit with their lives the tardy remorse excited in them by hu- 
manity. Dreams, apparitions, terror, and consternation of every 
kind, increased these prodigies of folly and horror. The prisons 
were filled, the gibbets left standing, and all the citizens involved in 
gloomy apprehensions. — So that superstitious notions, so far from 
being innocent and harmless speculations, lead to the most deplo- 
rable results ; and, therefore, ought to be undermined and eradi- 
cated by every one who wishes to promote the happiness and the 
good order of general society. 

Such, then, is the evil we find existing among mankind — false 
opinions, which produce vain fears, which debase the understand- 
ing, exhibit distorted views of the Deity, and lead to deeds of 

witches, may be seen in Pitcairn's " Criminal Trials, and other proceedings 
before the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland." — Part II. lately published. 
See also Appendix, No. V. 



32 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



The Study of Material Nature. 



cruelty and injustice. Let us now consider the remedy to be ap- 
plied for its removal. 

I have all a long taken it for granted, that ignorance of the laws 
and economy of nature is the great source of the absurd opinions 
to which I have adverted, — a position which, I presume, will not 
be called in question. For such opinions cannot be deduced 
from an attentive survey of the phenomena of nature, or from an 
induction of well-authenticated facts : and they are equally repug- 
nant to the dictates of revelation. Nay, so far are they from 
having any foundation in nature or experience, that in proportion 
as we advance in our researches into Nature's economy and laws, 
in the same proportion we perceive their futility and absurdity. 
As in most other cases, so in this, a knowledge of the cause of the 
evil leads to the proper remedy. Let us take away the cause, and 
the effect of course will be removed. Let the exercise of the ra- 
tional faculties be directed into a proper channel, and the mind 
furnished with a few fundamental and incontrovertible principles 
of reasoning — let the proper sources of information be laid open — 
let striking and interesting facts be presented to view, and a taste 
for rational investigation be encouraged and promoted — let habits 
of accurate observation be induced, and the mind directed to draw 
proper conclusions from the various objects which present them- 
selves to view, — and then we may confidently expect, that super- 
stitious opinions with all their usual accompaniments, will gradu- 
ally evanish, as the shades of night before the rising sun. 

But here it may be inquired, What kind of knowledge is it that 
will produce this effect ? It is not merely an acquaintance with a 
number of dead languages, with Roman and Grecian antiquities, 
with the subtleties of metaphysics, with pagan mythology, with 
politics or poetry : these, however important in other points of 
view, will not, in the present case, produce the desired effect ; for 
we have already seen, that many who were conversant in such 
subjects were not proof against the admission of superstitious 
opinions. In order to produce the desired effect, the mind must 
be directed to the study of material nature, — to contemplate the 
various appearances it presents, and to mark the uniform results 
of those invariable laws by which the universe is governed. In 
particular, the attention should be directed to those discoveries 
which have been made by philosophers in the different depart- 
ments of nature and art, during the two last centuries. For this 
purpose, the study of- natural history, as recording the various 
facts respecting the atmosphere, the waters, the earth, and ani- 
mated beings, combined with the study of natural philosophy and 
astronomy, as explaining the causes of the phenomena of nature. 



REMEDIES FOR SUPERSTITION. 33 

The Study of Material Nature. 

will have a happy tendency to eradicate from the mind those false 
notions, and, at the same time, will present to view objects of de- 
lightful contemplation. Let a person be once thoroughly con- 
vinced that Nature is uniform in her operations, and governed by 
regular laws, impressed by an all-wise and benevolent Being, — 
he will soon be inspired with confidence, and will not easily be 
alarmed at any occasional phenomena which at first sight might 
appear as exceptions to the general rule. 

For example, — let persons be taught that eclipses are occasion- 
ed merely by the shadow of one opaque body falling upon 
another — that they are the necessary result of the inclination 
of the moon's orbit to that of the earth — that the times when they 
take place depend on the new or full moon happening at or near 
the points of intersection — and that other planets which have 
moons experience eclipses of a similar nature — that the comets 
are regular bodies belonging to our system, which finish their re- 
volutions, and appear and disappear in stated periods of time — 
that the northern lights, though seldom seen in southern climes, are 
frequent in the regions of the North, and supply the inhabitants 
with light in the absence of the sun, and have probably a relation 
to the magnetic and electric fluids — that the ignesfaiui are harm- 
less lights, formed by the ignition of a certain species of gas pro- 
duced in the soils above which they hover — that the notes of the 
death-watch, so far from being presages of death, are ascertained 
to be the notes of love, and presages of hymeneal intercourses 
among these little insects ;* let rational information of this kind 
be imparted, and they will soon learn to contemplate nature with 
tranquillity and composure. Nay a more beneficial effect than 
even this, will, at the same time, be produced. Those objects 
which they formerly beheld with alarm, will now be converted into 
sources of enjoyment, and be contemplated with emotions of 

delight. 

" When from the dread immensity of space 
The rushing comet to the sun descends, 
With awful train projected o'er the world ; 

The enlighten'd few, 

Whose godlike minds philosophy exalts, 
The glorious stranger hail. They feel a joy 
Divinely great ; they in their powers exult ; 
They see the blazing wonder rise anew, 
In seeming terror clad, but kindly bent 
To work the will of All-sustained Love." 

Thomson's Summer. 



* This fact was particularly ascertained by Dr. Derham. — Philosophical 
Transactions , No. 291. 



34: ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Effects of proper Instruction. 



Such are the sublime emotions with which a person enlightened 
with the beams of science contemplates the return of a comet, 
or any uncommon celestial appearance. He will wait the ap- 
proach of such phenomena with pleasing expectation, in hopes of 
discovering more of the nature and destination of those distant 
orbs ; and will be led to form more enlarged ideas of their omni- 
potent Creator. 

Again, to remove the apprehensions which arise from the fear 
of invisible and incorporeal beings, let persons be instructed in 
the various optical illusions to which we are subject, arising from 
the intervention of fogs, and the indistinctness of vision in the 
night-time, which makes us frequently mistake a bush that is near 
us for a large tree at a distance ; and, under the influence of which 
illusions, a timid imagination will transform the indistinct image 
of a cow or a horse, into a terrific phantom of a monstrous size. 
Let them also be taught, by a selection of well-authenticated 
facts, the powerful influence of the imagination in creating ideal 
forms, especially when under the dominion of fear — the effects 
produced by the workings of conscience, when harassed with 
guilt — by very lively dreams, by strong doses of opium, by drunk- 
enness, hysteric passions, madness, and other disorders that af- 
fect the mind, and by the cunning artifices of impostors to pro- 
mote some sinister or nefarious designs. Let them likewise be 
instructed in the nature of spontaneous combustions and detona- 
tions, occasioned by the accidental combustion and explosion of 
gases, which produce occasional noises and lights in church-yards 
and empty houses. Let the experiments of optics, and the strik- 
ing phenomena produced by electricity, galvanism, magnetism, 
and the different gases, be exhibited to their view, together with 
details of the results which have been produced by various me- 
chanical contrivances. In fine, let their attention be directed to 
the foolish, whimsical, and extravagant notions, attributed to ap- 
paritions, and to their inconsistency with the wise and benevo- 
lent arrangements of the Governor of the universe.* 

That such instructions as those I have now hinted at would 
completely produce the intended effect, may be argued from this 
consideration, — that they have uniformly produced this effect on 
every mind which has been thus enlightened. Where is the man 
to be found, whose mind is enlightened in the doctrines and dis- 
coveries of modern science, and who yet remains the slave of 
superstitious notions and vain fears ? Of all the philosophers in 

* See Appendix, No. VI L for an illustration of some of the causes which 
have concurred to propagate the belief of apparitions. 



REMEDIES FOR SUPERSTITION. 35 



Dr. Samuel Johnson's Opinions. 



Europe, is there one who is alarmed at an eclipse, at a comet, 
at an ignis fatuas, or the notes of a death-watch, or who post- 
pones his experiments on account of what is called an unlucky 
day ? Did we ever hear of a spectre appearing to such a person 
dragging him from bed at the dead hour of midnight to wander 
through the forest trembling with fear ? — No : Such beings appear 
only to the ignorant and illiterate ; and we never heard of their 
appearing to any one who did not previously believe in their exist- 
ence. But why should philosophers be freed from such terrific 
visions, if substantial knowledge had not the power of banishing 
them from the mind ? Why should supernatural beings feel so 
shy in conversing with men of science 1 They would be the 
fittest persons to whom they might impart their secrets, and com- 
municate information respecting the invisible world, but it never 
falls to their lot to be favoured with such visits. Therefore it 
may be concluded, that the diffusion of useful knowledge would 
infallibly dissipate those groundless fears which have so long dis- 
turbed the happiness particularly of the lower orders of man- 
kind.* 

It forms no objection to what has been now stated, that the 
late Dr. Samuel Johnson believed in the existence of ghosts and 
in the second sight ; for, with all his vast acquirements in litera- 
ture, he was ignorant of natural science, and even attempted to 
ridicule the study of natural philosophy and astronomy, — the prin- 
cipal subjects which have the most powerful tendency to dissipate 
such notions, — as may be seen in. No. 24 of his "Rambler ;" 
where he endeavours to give force to his ridicule by exhibiting the 
oddities of an imaginary pretender to these sciences. He talks of 
nen of science " lavishing their hours in calculating the weight of 
he terraqueous globe, or in adjusting systems of worlds beyond the 
-each of the telescope ;" and adds, that " it w T as the greatest 

* It would be unfair to infer from any expressions here used, that the au- 
hor denies the possibility of supernatural visions and appearances. We 
.re assured from the records of Sacred History, that beings of an order su- 
>erior to the human race, have " at sundry times, and in diverse manners," 
nade their appearance to men. But there is the most marked difference be* 
^veen vulvar apparitions, and the celestial messengers to which the records 
f Revelation refer. They appeared, not to old women and clowns, but to 
'ltriarchs, prophets, and apostles. They appeared, not to frighten the timid, 
jid to create unnecessary alarm, but to declare " tidings of great joy."— • 
?hey appeared, not to reveal such paltry secrets as the place where a pot of 
n\d or silver is concealed, or where a lost ring may be found, but to commu- 
jcate intelligence worthy of God to reveal, and of the utmost importance for 
lan to receive. In these, and many other respects, there is the most strik- 
Ig contrast between popular ghosts, and the supernatural communications 
fid appearances recorded in Scripture, 



36 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



False Conceptions of the Deity. 



praise of Socrates, that he drew the wits of Greece from the vain 
pursuit of natural philosophy to moral inquiries, and turned their 
thoughts from the stars and tides, and matter and motion, upon 
the various modes of virtue and relations of life." His opinions 
and conduct, therefore, can only be considered as an additional 
proof of the propriety of the sentiments above expressed. 

Nor should it be considered as a thing impracticable to instruct 
the great body of mankind in the subjects to which I have alluded. 
Every man possessed of what is called common sense, is capable 
of acquiring all the information requisite for the purpose in view, 
even without infringing on the time allotted for his daily labours, 
provided his attention be once thoroughly directed to its acquisition, 
and proper means used.to promote his instruction. It is not intended 
that all men should be made profound mathematicians and phi- 
losophers ; nor is it necessary, in order to eradicate false opinions, 
and to enlarge and elevate the mind. A general view of useful 
knowledge is all that is necessary for the great mass of mankind ; 
and would certainly be incomparably preferable to that gross ig- 
norance, and those grovelling dispositions, which so generally pre- 
vail among the inferior ranks of society. And, to acquire such a 
degree of rational information, requires only that a taste for it, and 
an eager desire for acquiring it, be excited in the mind. If this 
were attained, I am bold to affirm, that the acquisition of such in- 
formation may be made by any person who is capable of learning 
a common mechanical employment, and will cost him less trouble 
and expense than are requisite to a schoolboy for acquiring the 
elements of the Latin tongue. 

To conclude this branch of the subject : — Since it appears that 
ignorance produces superstition, and superstitious notions en- 
gender vain fears and distorted views of the government of the 
Almighty, — since all fear is in itself painful, and, when it con- 
duces not to safety, is painful without use, — every consideration 
and every scheme by which groundless terrors may be removed, 
and just conceptions of the moral attributes of the Deity pro- 
moted, must diminish the sum of human misery, and add some- 
thing to human happiness. If therefore the acquisition of useful 
knowledge respecting the laws and the economy of the universe 
would produce this effect, the more extensively such information 
is propagated, the more happiness will be diffused among mankind. 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 37 



Ignorance the chief Cause of physical Evils. 



SECTION II. 

On the Utility of Knowledge in preventing Diseases and Fatal 

Accidents. 

It is a conclusion which has been deduced from long experi- 
ence, " that mankind in their opinions and conduct are apt to run 
from one extreme to another." We have already seen, that, in 
consequence of false conceptions of the Deity, and of his arrange- 
ments in the economy of nature, the minds of multitudes have 
been alarmed by the most unfounded apprehensions, and have 
been "in great fear where no fear was." On the other hand, 
from a similar cause, many have run heedlessly into danger and 
destruction, when a slight acquaintance with the powers of nature, 
and the laws of their operation, would have pointed out the road 
to safety. This leads me to the illustration of another advantage 
which would be derived from a general diffusion of knowledge, — 
namely, 

That it would tend to prevent many of those diseases and fatal 
accidents which flow from ignorance of the laws which govern the 
operations of nature. 

There are, indeed, several accidents to which mankind are ex- 
posed, which no human wisdom can foresee or prevent. Being 
furnished with faculties of a limited nature, and placed in the midst 
of a scene where so many powerful and complicated causes are 
in constant operation, we are sometimes exposed, all on a sudden, 
to the action of destructive causes of which we were ignorant, or 
over which we have no control. Even although we could foresee 
a pestilence, a famine, an earthquake, an inundation, or the erup- 
tion of a volcano, we could not altogether prevent the calamities 
which generally flow from their destructive ravages. But, at the 
same time, it may be affirmed with truth, that a great proportion 
of the physical evils and accidents to which the human race is 
liable, are the effects of a culpable ignorance, and might be effec- 
tually prevented, were useful knowledge more extensively diffused. 
But it unfortunately happens, in almost every instance, that the 
persons who are exposed to the accidents to which I allude, are 
ignorant of the means requisite for averting the danger. To 
illustrate this point, I shall select a few examples, and shall inter- 
sperse a few hints and maxims for the consideration of those whom 
it may concern. 

The first class of accidents to which I shall advert, comprises 
those which have happened/rom ignorance of the nature and pro- 
4 



35 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Carbonic acid Gas. 



parties of the different gases, and of the noxious effects which some 
of them produce on the functions of animal life. 

We have frequently read in newspapers and magazines, and 
some of us have witnessed such accidents as the following : — A 
man descends into a deep well,whichhad for some time been shut 
up. When he has gone down a considerable way he suddenly leti 
go his hold of the rope or ladder by which he descends, and drops 
to the bottom in a state of insensibility, devoid of utterance, and 
unable to point out the cause of his disaster. Another hastily fol- 
lows him, to ascertain the cause, and to afford him assistance ; 
but by the time he arrives at the same depth he shares the same 
fate. A third person, after some hesitation, descends with more 
cautious steps. But he soon begins to feel a certain degree of 
giddiness, and makes haste to ascend, or is drawn up by assistants. 
In the mean time, the unhappy persons at the bottom of the well 
are frequently left to remain so long in a state of suspended anima- 
tion, tiiat all means of restoration prove abortive ; and the cause 
of the disaster remains a mystery, till some medical gentleman, or 
other person of intelligence, be made acquainted with the circum- 
stances of the accident. Similar accidents, owing to the same 
cause, have happened to persons who have incautiously descend- 
ed into brewers' vats, or who have entered precipitately into wine 
cellars, and vaults, which had been long shut up from the exter- 
nal air, and where the process of fermentation was going on : 
They have been suddenly struck down, as by a flash of lightning ; 
and, in some instances, the vital spark has been completely extin- 
guished. Many instances, too, could be produced, of workmen, 
who have incautiously laid themselves down to sleep in the neigh- 
bourhood of lime-kilns w r here they were employed, having, in a 
short time, slept the sleep of death. The burning of charcoal in 
close apartments has also proved fatal to many ; more especially 
when they have retired to rest in such apartments, while the char- 
coal was burning, and before the rooms had received a thorough 
ventilation. 

Numerous are the instances in which accidents have happened, 
in the circumstances now stated, and which are still frequently 
recurring ; all which might have been prevented had the following 
facts been generally known and attended to : — That there exists 
a certain species of air, termed fixed air, or carbonic acid gas, 
which instantly extinguishes flame, and is destructive to animal 
life ; that it is found in considerable quantities in places which have 
been shut up from the external atmosphere, — as in old wells, pits, 
caverns, and close vaults ; that it is copiously produced during 
the fermentation of liquors in brewers' vats, where it hovers above 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 39 

Expulsion of foul Air from Wells, &c. 

the surface of the liquor ; in cellars where wine and malt liquors 
are kept ; and by the burning of lime and charcoal ; and that, 
being nearly twice as heavy as common air, it sinks to the bottom 
of the place where it is produced. The following plain hints are 
therefore all that is requisite to be attended to, in order to prevent 
the recurrence of such disasters. Previous to entering a well or 
pit which has been long secluded from the external air, let a lighted 
candle or taper be sent down ; if it continues to burn at the bottom 
there is no danger, for air that will support flame, without an explo- 
sion, will also support animal life ; but, should the taper be extin- 
guished before it reaches the bottom, it would be attended with 
imminent danger to venture down till the foul air be expelled. The 
noxious ah* may be destroyed by throwing down a quantity of quick 
lime and gradually sprinkling it with water; for as the lime slakes 
it will absorb the mephitic air, and a person may afterwards descend 
in safety. Where lime is not at hand, a bush, or such like bulky 
substance, may be let down and drawn up several times ; or some 
buckets of water may be thrown into it, till the air be so purified 
that a lighted taper will continue to burn at the bottom. These 
precautionary hints will apply to all the other gases referred to 
where this species of gas may happen to exist. To which I may 
also add as another hint, that in every situation where fixed air is 
supposed to exist, it is more dangerous to sit or to lie down in 
such places, than to stand erect ; for as this gas is the heaviest of 
all the gases, it occupies the lowest place ; and therefore, a person 
lying on the ground may be suffocated by it, while another, stand- 
ing at his side would feel no injury, his mouth being being raised 
above the stratum of the noxious fluid.* I shall only remark 
further on this head, that several disorders have been contracted 
by persons sleeping under the branches of trees in the night-time, 
and in apartments where great quantities of fruit, or other vegetable 
matter are kept, — from ignorance of the fact, that during the 
night the leaves of trees, and all vegetable matter, perspire a dele- 
terious air, which, when it has accumulated to a certain degree may 
induce a variety of serious complaints, and sometimes prove fatal. 
The disasters ivhich have happened in coal mines, and other sub- 

* The grotto del Cani, a small cavern in Italy, about four leagues from Na- 
ples, contains a stratum of carbonic acid gas. It has been a common prac- 
tice to drive dogs into the cavern, where they suffer a temporary death for 
the entertainment of strangers. But a man enters with perfect safety, and 
feels no particular inconvenience by standing in it, because his mouth is con- 
siderably above the surface of that stratum of deleterious air ; but were he to 
lie down he would be instantly suffocated. The same precaution may also 
be useful in walking through certain caverns in our own country. 



40 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Chapter of Accidents. 



terraneous apartments, form another class of accidents, many of 
which have been the effects of ignorance. Of late years an im- 
mense number of men, boys, and horses have been destroyed by 
the explosion of inflammable air in the coal mines in this coun- 
try, particularly in the north of England, where the most affecting 
and tragical scenes have been presented to view. On the forenoon 
of Monday, 25th May, 1812, a dreadful accident took place at Fel- 
ling, near Gateshead, in the mine belonging to C. T. Branding, 
Esq. When nearly the whole of the workmen were below, — the 
second set having gone down before the first had come up, — a 
double blast of hydrogen gas took place, and set the mine on fire, 
forcing up an immense volume of smoke, which darkened the air 
to a considerable distance, and scattered an immense quantity of 
small coal from the upcast shaft. In this calamity ninety-three 
men and boys perished. The mine was obliged to be closed up 
on the following Saturday in order to extinguish the fire which 
put an end to all hopes of saving any of the sufferers. On the 
16th October, in the same year, and in the same county, (Dur- 
ham,) a coal-pit at Shiney Row suddenly took fire by explosion of 
the inflammable air ; in consequence of which seven persons were 
severely scorched. And on the Saturday following (October 
10th,) the Harrington Mill pit, distant from the other about two 
or three hundred yards, also took fire ; by which four men and 
nineteen boys were killed on the spot, and many people severely 
wounded and burnt, and two boys were missing. This dreadful 
catastrophe was likewise occasioned by the explosion of fire 
damp.* The above are only two or three examples of a variety 
of similar accidents which have happened, of late years, in the 
coal districts in the northern part of our island. That all such 
accidents could have been prevented by means of the knowledge 
w< have hitherto acquired, would perhaps be too presumptuous to 
affirm ; but that a great proportion of them were the effects of ig- 
norance on the part of the miners, and might have been prevented 
by a general knowledge of the nature and causes of such explo- 
sions, and by taking proper precautionary measures, there is every 
reason to believe. That this is not a mere random assertion will 
appear from the following extract from the Monthly Magazine, for 
February, 1814, p. 80 : — " Mr. Bake well, in his late lectures at 
Leeds, stated the following circumstance, which strongly evinces 
the benefits which arise from educating the working classes, that, 
in the coal districts of Northumberland and Durham, accidents 
are constantly taking place from explosion in the mines ; so that 

* Sec Monthly Magazine, vol. xxxiii. p. 5S0, and vol. xxxiv. p. 462. 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 41 



Coal Mines, &c. 



not less than six hundred person have been destroyed in the last 
two years. But in one of the mines which was frequently subject 
to explosion, not an accident of any consequence had taken place 
for the last twelve years, the proprietors, besides other precautions, 
having for a considerable time past educated the children of the 
miners at their own expense, and, given them proper information 
respecting the nature of the danger to be avoided"* 

Were the working miners carefully instructed in the nature 
and composition of the atmosphere, and its chemical properties, 
and particularly in the nature and composition of the different 
gases, — were such instructions illustrated by a judicious selection 
of chemical experiments, and were the proper practical hints and 
precautions deduced and clearly exhibited, there cannot be the 
least doubt that it would be attended with numerous beneficial 
results. When a person is ignorant of the noxious principles that 
may be secretly operating within the sphere of his labours, he 
will frequently rush heedlessly within the limits of danger ; whereas, 
a man who is thoroughly acquainted with all the variety of causes 
which may possibly be in action around him will proceed in every 
step with judgment and caution, and, where danger is apparent, 
will hasten his retreat to a place of safety. 

* This section of the present work was written in 1816, and the facts referred 
to in it happened within three or four years of that date. Since that period 
Sir Humphrey Davy's ingenious contrivance, called the Safety Lamp, has 
been invented, by means of which, we have every reason to believe, many 
accidents in coal mines have been prevented, and many lives preserved from 
destruction. The peculiar property of this lamp is, that the miner may move 
about with it, and even work by its light in the midst of those explosive mix- 
tures which have so often proved fatal when entered with a common lamp or 
a candle. It transmits its light, and is fed with air through a cylinder of cop- 
per wire-2;ause. The apertures in the gause are about one-twentieth or one- 
twenty-fifth of an inch square, and the thickness of the wire from one-fortieth 
to one sixtieth of an inch diameter. The parts of the lamp are : — l.The 
brass cistern which contains the oil. 2. The rim in which the wire-gauze cover 
is fixed, and which is fastened to the cistern by a moveable screw. 3. An 
aperture for supplying oil fitted with a screw or cork, and a central aperture 
for the wick. 4. The wire-gause cylinder, which consists of at least 625 aper- 
tures to the square inch. 5. The second top three-fourths of an inch above 
the first, surmounted by a brass or copper plate, to which the ring of suspen- 
sion is fixed. 6. Four or six thick vertical wires, joining the cistern below 
with the top plate, and serving as protecting pillars round the cage. 

When the wire-gauze safety lamp is lighted and introduced into an atmos- 
phere gradually mixed with fire-damp, the first effect of the fire-dump is to 
increase the length and size of the flame. When the inflam7r,able gas forms 
one-twelfth of the volume of the air, the cylinder becomes filled with a feeble 
blue flame, but the flame of the wick appears burning brightly within the blue 
flame, and the li^ht of the wick increases till the fire-damp increase to one-fifth, 
when it is lost in the flame of the fire-damp, which fills the cylinder with a 
pretty strong light. As long as any explosive mixture of r as exists in contact 
4* 



42 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Safety Lamp. 



The injuries which are produced by the stroke of lightning form 
another class of accidents which are frequently owing to ignorance. 
It is still to be regretted, that, notwithstanding the discoveries 
of modern philosophy, respecting the electric fluid and the laws 

with the lamp, so long it will give its light, and when it is extinguished, which 
happens when the foul air constitutes one-third of the volume of the atmos- 
phere, the air is no longer proper for respiration, for though animal life will con- 
tinue where flame is extinguished, yet it is always with suffering. 

DAVY'S SAFETY LAMP. 




The following are the principal parts of the safety lamp :— F is the lamp 
throwing up a brilliant flame. C is the reservoir, supplied with oil by the tube 
M. EE is a frame of thick wire, to protect the wire-gauze, AAAA, which 
has a double top GIL The frame has a ring P attached to it for the conve- 
nience of carrying it. The wire-gauze is well fastened to the rim B. 

Notwithstanding the utility of this invention such is the carelessness and 
apathy of the working miners, that they either neglect to use their safety 
lamps, or to attend to the means requisite to keep them in order, — which care- 
lessness and apathy are (he effects of that gross ignorance into which so 
many of them are sunk. Hence we find, that seldom a year passes in which 
wo do not hear of destructive explosions happening in our coal mines particu- 
larly in England. 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 43 

Accidents by Lightning. 

of its operation, no thunder- guard has yet been invented, which 
in all situations, whether in the house, in the street, in the open 
field, in a carnage, or on horseback, shall serve as a complete 
protection from the ravages of lightning. Till some contrivance 
of this kind be effected, it is probable that the human race will still 
be occasionally subjected to accidents from electrical storms. 
Such accidents are more numerous and fatal, even in our tempe- 
rate climate, than is generally imagined. From an induction 
of a variety of facts of this kind, as stated in the public papers 
and other periodical works, in the year 1811, the author ascertain- 
ed that more than twenty persons were killed by lightning, 
or at the rate of a thousand persons every fifty years, during 
the summer months of that year, within the limits of our island ; 
besides the violent shocks experienced by others, which did not 
immediately prove fatal, and the damage occasioned to sheep and 
cattle, and to public and private edifices ; and it is worthy of 
notice, that most of the individuals who were killed by the light- 
ning had either taken shelter under trees, or were in situations 
adjacent to bells or bell-wires. The experience of succeeding 
years proves that a similar number of disasters of this kind an- 
nually take place. It is, however, more than probable, that at 
least half the number of accidents arising from the same cause 
might have been averted, had the nature of lightning, and the laws 
which regulate its movements, been generally known. Seldom 
a year passes but we are informed by the public prints of some per- 
son or other having been killed by lightning, when taking shelter 
under a large tree,— of whole families, having been struck down 
when crowding around a fireplace, during a thunder-storm, — of 
one person having been struck when standing beside a bell-wire, 
and another while standing under a bell connected with the wire, 
or under a lustre hanging from the ceiling. 

There can be little doubt, that a considerable number of such 
accidents would have been prevented had the following facts res- 
pecting the nature of lightning been extensively known : — That 
lightning is a fluid of the same nature, and is directed in its 
motions by the same laws which regulate the motions of the elec- 
tric fluid in our common electrical machines ; that it is attracted 
and conducted by trees, water, moisture, flame, and all kinds of 
metallic substances ; that it is most disposed to strike high and 
pointed objects ; and that, therefore, -it must be dangerous to re- 
main connected with or in the immediate neighbourhood of such 
objects when a thunder-cloud is passing near the earth. 

Hence the following precautionary maxims have been deduced, 
by attending to which the personal accidents arising from thunder 



44 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Precautions against Lightning. 
i - . ■ ■■ --I 

storms might be, in a great measure, prevented. In the open air 
during a storm, rivers, pools, and every mass of water, even the 
Streamlets arising from a recent shower, should be avoided; be- 
cause water, being an excellent conductor, might determine the 
course of an electrical discharge towards a person in contact 
with it, or in its immediate neighbourhood. All high trees and 
similar elevated conductors should also be avoided, as they are in 
more danger of being struck than objects on the ground ; and, 
therefore, a person in contact with them exposes himself to im- 
minent danger, should the course of the lightning lie in that direc- 
tion. But, to take our station at the distance of thirty or forty 
paces from such objects, or at such a distance as may prevent us 
from being injured by the splinters of wood, should the tree be 
struck, is more secure than even in the midst of an open plain. 
Persons in a house not provided with thunder-rods should avoid 
sitting near a chimney or fireplace, whether there be a fire in the 
grate or not. For when there is a fire in the grate the flue con- 
tains the following conductors, — flame, smoke, rarefied air, and 
soot. Even when there is no fire, the soot with which the flue 
is lined is a conductor ; and from the superior height of the 
chimney-shaft above every other part of the building, it is more 
liable than any other part of the house to be struck with lightning. 
In a house, too, gilt mirrors or picture-frames, lustres or burning 
candles, bell-wires, and all metallic substances, should be careful- 
ly avoided, as they afford so many points of attraction, which 
might determine the course of an electric discharge. The safest 
position is in the middle of the room, if not near a lustre, a bell, 
or any thing hanging from the ceiling ; and if we place the chair 
on which we sit on a bed or mattress, almost every possible 
danger may be avoided.* Such are a few maxims easy to be 
recollected and put in practice, by attending to which not a few 
accidents from electrical explosions might be averted. 

In the next place, various accidents have happened from igno- 
rance of certain plain mechanical principles. For example, serious 
accidents have sometimes occurred from the want of acquaintance 
with the laws of motion. Persons have heedlessly jumped out of 
moving vehicles, and got their legs and arms sprained or disloca- 
ted, and from one boat to another when both were in rapid motion, 
and run the risk of being either bruised, drenched, or drowned. 

* It has been generally thought that the cellar is the most secure situation 
during a thunder-storm j but this is true only in certain cases. When the 
lightning proceeds from the clouds, it is unquestionahly the most secure po- 
sition : but in the case of a returning stroke, or when the lightning proceeds 
from tne earth, it is less secure than the higher parts of the building. 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS, 



45 



Centre of Gravity. 



But had the effects of compound motion been generally known 
and attended to, in all those cases where it occurs, it would have 
prevented many of those accidents which have happened from 
persons rashly jumping out of carriages when in rapid motion, or 
attempting to jump from the top of a moving cylinder, in which 
cases they are always precipitated with violence, in a direction 
different from what they expected, from the obvious effects of a 
combination of forces. Boats and carriages have been sometimes 
overset by persons rising hastily when they were in danger of such 
accidents, — from ignorance of the principle, that the centre of 
gravity of the moving vehicle, by such a practice, is raised so as 
to endanger the line of direction being thrown beyond the base, 
when the vehicle must, of course, be overturned ; whereas had 
they clapped down to the bottom, they would have brought down 
the line of direction, and consequently the centre of gravity, farther 
within the base, so as to have prevented the accident and secured 
their safety. The reason of this will perhaps more plainly appear 
from the following explanations : — The centre of gravity is that 
point of a body about which all its parts are in equilibrio, or balance 




46 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Optical Illusions by the refraction of Light. 



each other ; and consequently, if this point be supported, the whole 
body will be at rest, and cannot fall. An imaginary line drawn 
from the centre of gravity of any body towards the centre of the 
earth is called the line of direction. Bodies stand with firmness 
upon their bases when this line falls within the base ; but if the 
line of direction falls without the base, the body will be overturned. 
Thus, the inclining body ABCD, whose centre of gravity is E, 
stands firmly on its base CDKF, because the line of direction 
EM falls within the base. But if a weight, as ABGH, be laid 
upon the top of the body, the centre of gravity of the whole body 
and weight together, is raised up to I ; and then, as the line of 
direction ID falls without the base at D, the centre of gravity I is 
not supported, and the whole body and weight must tumble down 
together. 

The tower of Pisa, in Italy, leans sixteen feet out of the per- 
pendicular, so that strangers are afraid to pass under it ; but as the 
plummet or line of direction falls ivithin its base or foundation, it is 
in no danger of falling, if its materials keep together; and hence 
it has stood in this state for three hundred years. But were an 
additional erection of any considerable elevation, to be placed 
upon its top, it would undoubtedly soon tumble into ruins. 

To a somewhat similar cause, in combination with heedlessness 
and ignorance, may be ascribed many of those accidents which so 
frequently happen at spinning mills and other pieces of machinery, 
by which legs and arms are torn asunder, and the human frame 
sometimes mangled and destroyed. 

Fatal accidents have likewise happened from ignorance of the 
effects produced by the refraction of light. It is a well-known 
optical fact, that when a ray of light passes from air into water, 
and is again refracted, the sine of the angle of incidence is in 
proportion to the sine of the angle of refraction as four to three. 
From this circumstance it happens that pools and rivers appear 
shallower than they really are — their channels, when viewed from 
their brink, being apparently higher than their true position, in the 
proportion of three to four ; so that a river eight feet deep will ap- 
pear from its bank to be only six. This fact may be at any time 
perceived in a tub or pail full of water, where the bottom of the 
vessel will obviously appear to be raised a considerable space 
above its true position, and its apparent depth consequently dimi- 
nished. In consequence of this optical illusion, which is not gene- 
rally known, many a traveller, as well as many a schoolboy, has 
lost his life, by supposing the bottom of a clear river to be with- 
in his depth, as, when he stands on the bank, the bottom will ap- 
pear one-fourth nearer the surface than it really is. 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS, 



47 



Explanations of Optical Illusions. 



This will appear evident from the following illustrations : If a 

ray of light AC passes obliquely from air into water, instead of 
continuing its course in the direct line CB, it takes the direction 
CH, and approaches the perpendicular PP, in such a manner that 
the angle of refraction PCH is less than its angle of incidence, 
ECA. AE is the sine of the angle of incidence, and HP the sine 
of the angle of refraction ; and the proportion they bear to each 
other is as four to three. If a small body, therefore, were placed 
at H and viewed from the point A, it would appear as if it were 
raised to the point B, or one-fourth higher than it really is. 




•This may be further illustrated by the following common experi- 
ment. Put a shilling into the bottom of an empty basin, at C, 
and walk backward till it appear completely hid by the intercep- 
tion of the edge of the basin ; then cause water to be poured into 
the basin, and the shilling will instantly appear as if placed in the 




point D : for, being now in a denser medium, it appears raised, or 
nearer to its surface. Before the water was poured in, the shilling 
could not be seen where it was ; now it is seen where it is not It 
is not the eye that has changed its place, but the ray of light has 
taken a new direction, in passing from the water to the eye, and 



48 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



When clothes take fire, how to arrest the flame. 



strikes the eye as if it came from the piece of money. This expe- 
riment may be varied as follows : — Take an empty basin, and 
along the diameter of its bottom fix marks at a small distance from 
each other, then take it into a dark room, and let in a ray of light ; 
and where this falls upon the floor place the basin, so that its mark- 
ed diameter may point towards the window, and so that the beam 
may fall on the mark most distant from the window. This done, 
fill the basin with water, and the beam, which before fell upon the 
most distant mark, will now, by the refractive power of the water, 
be turned out of its straight course, and will fall two or three or 
more marks nearer the centre of the basin. 

It is owing to the circumstance now stated, that an oar partly 
in and partly out of the water appears broken; that objects ap- 
pear distorted when seen through a crooked pane of glass ; that a 
fish in the water appears much nearer the surface than it actually 
is ; and that a skilful marksman, in shooting at it, must aim con- 
siderably below the place which it seems to occupy. It is owing 
to the refractive power of the atmosphere that the sun is seen 
before he rises above the horizon in the morning, and after he sinks 
beneath it in the evening ; that we sometimes see the moon, on her 
rising, totally eclipsed, while the sun is still seen in the opposite 
part of the horizon; and that the stars and planets are never seen 
in the places where they really are, except when they are in the 
zenith, or point directly over our head. 

Many affecting and fatal accidents have happened, and are 
frequently recurring, particularly to children, and females in the 
higher ranks of life, from their clothes catching fire, most of which 
might be prevented, were the two following simple facts univer- 
sally known and practically applied, — that flame has a tendency 
to mount upwards; and that air is essentially requisite for support- 
ing it. When the clothes of females take fire, as the fire gene- 
rally begins at the lower parts of their dress, so long as they con- 
tinue in an upright posture, the flames, naturally ascending, and 
meeting with additional fuel as they rise, become more powerful in 
proportion ; whereby the neck, the head, and other vital parts of 
the body are liable to be most injured ; and, by running from one 
part of the room to another, or from one apartment to another, as 
is most frequently the case, the air, which is the fuel of fire, gains 
free access to every part of their apparel, and feeds the increasing 
flame. In such cases, the sufferer should instantly throw her 
clothes over her head, and roll or lie upon them, in order to prevent 
the ascent of the flames and the access of fresh air. When this 
cannot conveniently be effected, she may still avoid great agony, and 
save her life, by throwing herself at full length on the floor, and 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 49 

Cow-pox a Preventive of Small-pox. 

rolling herself thereon. Though this method may not, in every 
case, completely extinguish the flame, it will to a certainty retard 
its progress, and prevent fatal injury to the vital parts. When 
assistance is at hand, the bystanders should immediately wrap a 
carpet, a hearth-rug, a great-coat or a blanket, around the head and 
body of the sufferer, who should be laid in a recumbent position, 
which will prove a certain preventive from danger. During the 
year 1813, the author noted down more than ten instances, record- 
ed in the public prints, of females who were burnt to death by 
their clothes catching fire, all of which might have been prevented, 
had the simple expedients now stated been resorted to, and 
promptly applied. 

It may be remarked, in the next place, that many of the diseases 
to which mankind are subject — particularly fevers, small-pox, and 
other infectious disorders — might be prevented by the diffusion 
of knowledge in relation to their nature, their causes, and the 
means of prevention. It cannot have been overlooked, in the 
view of the intelligent observer, that fevers and other infectious 
disorders generally spread with the greatest facility and make 
the most dreadful havoc among the lower orders of society. 
This is owing, in part, to the dirty state in which their houses are 
kept, every part of which affords proper materials for the produc- 
tion and detention of pestilential effluvia, and their ignorance of 
the importance of pure atmospherical air to animal life, and the 
consequent necessity of daily ventilating their apartments. It 
is also owing in a great measure to the custom of persons crowd- 
ing into the chambers of those who are labouring under such 
infectious diseases, and thereby not only increasing the strength 
of the infectious virus, but absorbing a portion of it in their own 
bodies, to spread its baleful influence in a wider circle. Such a 
conduct frequently proceeds from a want of conviction of the 
infectious nature of such disorders, and from ignorance of the 
rapid manner in which they are sometimes communicated from 
one to another, as well as from that obstinacy and from those in- 
veterate prejudices which are always the accompaniments of ig- 
norance. Though the cow-pox inoculation has been proved by 
experience to be an effectual preventive of that loathsome and often 
fatal disorder, the small-pox, yet numbers in the lower ranks of life 
cannot yet be persuaded to use this simple preventive, and will 
rather run the risk of experiencing all its disagreeable and dan- 
gerous effects both on their own persons and on those of their 
offspring. Their obstinate prejudices, in this and similar respects, 
are increased by their false views and reasonings respecting the 
doctrine of the Divine decrees, and the providence of the Almighty. 
5 



50 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Benefit of pure Air. 



They imagine, that to induce one species of disease for the 
prevention of another is attempting to take the government of 
the world out of the hands of the Creator, and that no means of 
preventing disorders can be of any avail, if the Deity has other- 
wise decreed; not considering that the Almighty governs the 
world he has created by regular and invariable laws, and accom- 
plishes his decrees through the intervention of those secondary 
causes, both natural and moral, which are continually ope rating 
in the physical and intellectual world. Were general know- 
ledge more extensively diffused, and the minds of the multitude 
habituated to just principles and modes of reasoning, such falla- 
cious views and opinions would be speedily dissipated, and con- 
sequently those physical evils and disorders which they produce 
would be in a great measure prevented. 

Again, to ignorance we must likewise attribute, in a great 
measure, the 'pernicious effects of contaminated air in divel- 
ling-houses. Pure air is as essentially requisite to the health 
and vigour of the animal system as wholesome food and drink. 
When contaminated by stagnation, by breathing, by fires or can- 
dles, it operates as a slow poison, and gradually undermines the 
human constitution ; yet nothing is less attended to in the econo- 
my of health by the great majority of mankind. Because air is 
an invisible substance, and makes little impression on the organs 
of sense, they seem to act as if it had no existence. Hence 
we find, that no attention is paid by the lower orders of society 
to the proper ventilation of their apartments. In some cases, 
the windows of their houses are so fixed in the walls as to be in- 
capable of being opened ; and in other cases, where the windows 
are moveable, they are seldom opened, except by accident, for 
weeks and months together ; and were it not that a door and a 
chimney are to be found in every habitable apartment, the air 
would be rendered in many instances absolutely unfit for respira- 
tion. Crowds of tailors, weavers, shoemakers, and other me- 
chanics, employed in sedentary occupations, are frequently pent 
up in close, and sometimes damp apartments, from morning till 
evening, without ever thinking of opening their windows for a 
single half-hour for the admission of fresh air ; and consequent- 
ly, are continually breathing an atmosphere highly impregnated 
with the noxious gas emitted from the lungs, and the effluvia per- 
spired from their bodies, which is most sensibly felt by its hot, suf- 
focating smell, when a person from the open air enters into such 
apartments. The sallow complexion of such persons plainly 
indicates the enervating effects produced by the air they breathe ; 
and although its pernicious effects may not be sensibly felt it 






PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 51 



Importance of Perspiration. 



gradually preys upon their constitutions, and often produces in- 
curable asthmas, fevers, consumptions, and other dangerous dis- 
orders, which are frequently imputed to other causes. Nothing 
is more easy than to open the windows of an apartment and 
other apertures that communicate with the external air, at meal 
hours, when the room is empty, in order to expel the contaminated 
air, and admit the pure vital fluid. No medicine or restorative 
is cheaper or of more importance to health and vigour than pure 
atmospherical air ; yet because it costs nothing, it is little regard- 
ed. Hints and admonitions in reference to this point are seldom 
attended to ; for ignorance is always proud and obstinate, and 
the inconveniences supposed in certain cases to flow from the 
practice of ventilating particular apartments are seldom attempt- 
ed to be remedied. It is, therefore, presumed, that were a know- 
ledge of the nature of the atmosphere, of the ingredients that 
enter into its composition, of its indispensable necessity for the 
support and invigoration of animal life, of the circumstances by 
which it is deteriorated, and of the baneful effects which are pro- 
duced by its contamination, more widely diffused, its use and im- 
portance would be more duly appreciated, and the disorders 
which flow from the circumstances now stated effectually pre- 
vented.* 

Much benefit might also be produced, were a knowledge of the 
means of restoring suspended animation, in cases of drowning, 
strangulation, &c, generally disseminated. As prompt measures 
in such cases are absolutely necessary, many fatal effects have 
happened from the delay occasioned by medical assistance having 
been at a distance ; which might have been prevented, had the 
proper means of resuscitation been known and immediately re- 
sorted to by the persons present at such a juncture. Were the na- 
ture and importance of the function of perspiration generally known 
and attended to, it might likewise be the means of preventing those 



* The following fact shows, in an impressive manner, the danger arising 
from the want of a free circulation and frequent change of air. " In the lying- 
in-hospital of Dublin, two thousand nine hundred and forty-four infants, 
out of seven thousand six hundred and fifty, died, in the year 1782, within 
the first fortnight from their birth. They almost all expired in convulsions ; 
many foamed at the mouth ; their thumbs were drawn into the palms of 
their hands ; their jaws were locked ; their faces swelled ; and they present- 
ed, in a greater or less degree, every appearance of suffocation. This last 
circumstance at last produced an inquiry whether the rooms were not too 
close and insufficiently ventilated. The apartments of the hospital were 
rendered more airy ; and the consequence has been, that the proportion of 
deaths, according to the registers of succeeding years is diminished from 
three to one. 11 



52 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Improper Treatment of Children. 



diseases and disasters which flow from making sudden transitions 
from heat to cold, which are the origin of many fatal disorders 
among the labouring classes. If a man is thoroughly convinced 
that more than the one-half of what he eats and drinks is thrown 
off by insensible perspiration, he will at once see the importance 
of avoiding every practice and every circumstance which has a 
tendency to obstruct the operations of this important function. 

The last example I shall mention, though not of the least im- 
portance, is the fatal effects produced by ignorance of the proper 
mode of treating children during the first stages of infancy. It is 
a fact deduced from the annual registers of the dead, that one-half 
the number of children born die under seven years of age. This 
extraordinary mortality is universally imputed, by medical writers, 
to wrong management during the first and second years of their 
infancy, and the practice of giving anodyne aromatic medicines. 
Instead of clothing infants in such a manner as to give free scope 
for the exercise of all the vital functions as soon as they are 
ushered into the world, the midwives and officious matrons fre- 
quently vie with each other to improve upon nature by attempting 
to model the head and to strengthen the limbs by the application of 
fillets, rollers and swaddling-bands of several yards in length ; 
thus loading and binding them with clothes equal to their own 
weight to the manifest injury of the motions of their bowels, lungs, 
limbs, and other animal functions. Instead of covering the head 
with a thin single cap, and keeping the extremities in a moderate 
degree of warmth, an opposite course is most frequently pursued, 
which is supposed to be one among the many existing causes of 
hydrocephalus or water in the brain. Instead of allowing the first 
milk that is secreted, which nature has endowed with a purgative 
quality, to stimulate the bowels, it is a common practice, immedi- 
ately on the birth of a child, to administer a variety of purgative 
medicines in close succession, " as if," says a modern writer, " to 
prove that it has arrived in a world of physic and of evils." In- 
stead of being exposed to the invigorating effects of pure air, and 
kept in a moderate degree of temperature, they are too frequently 
confined to a hot contaminated atmosphere, which relaxes their 
solids, impedes their respiration, and frequently induces fatal con- 
vulsions.* These are but a few examples out of many which could 
be produced of the improper treatment of children, from which mul- 
titudes of painful complaints and dangerous disorders derive their 
origin. It is therefore reasonable to believe, that were general 
information on such topics extensively disseminated, and a more 

* See the proceeding note, p. 51. 



PREVENTION OF DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS, 53 



Evils of Intemperance. 



rational mode of nurture during the first years of infancy 
adopted, not only fatal disorders, but many subsequent dis- 
eases in life might either be wholly prevented, or, at least, greatly 
mitgated. 

We have likewise reason to conclude, that a general dissemina- 
tion of knowledge, by directing the mind to intellectual enjoyments, 
and lessening the desire for sensual pleasures, would lead to habits 
of sobriety and temperance. Intemperance has perhaps been pro- 
ductive of more diseases, misery, and fatal accidents than all the 
other causes I have now specified. It has benumbed the intellec- 
tual faculties, debased the affections, perverted the moral powers, 
degraded man below the level of the brutes, and has carried along 
with it a train of evils destructive to the happiness of families, and 
to the harmony and order of social life. Wherever intemperance 
prevails, a barrier is interposed to every attempt for raising man 
from the state of moral and intellectual degradation into which he 
has sunk, and for irradiating his mind with substantial knowledge. 
But were the mind m early life imbued with a relish for knowledge 
and mental enjoyments, it would tend to withdraw it from those 
degrading associations and pursuits which lead to gluttony, debauch- 
ery, and drunkenness, and consequently prevent those diseases, 
accidents, and miseries which invariable follow in their train. As 
the human mind is continually in quest of happiness of one de- 
scription or another, so multitudes of the young and inexperienced 
have been led to devote themselves to the pursuit of sensual plea- 
sures as their chief and ultimate object, because they have no con- 
ception of enjoyment from any other quarter, and are altogether 
ignorant of the refined gratification which flows from intellectual 
pursuits. In the prosecution of knowledge the rational faculties 
are brought into exercise, and sharpened and invigorated ; and 
when reason begins to hold the ascendancy over the desires and 
affections, there is less danger to be apprehended that the mind will 
ever be completely subjected to the control of the sensitive appe- 
tites of our nature. 

I might also have stated, that many physical evils might be pre- 
vented, were mankind at large acquainted with the characteristics 
of poisonous plants ; the means of detecting mineral poisons, and 
the mode of counteracting their effects ; the proper mode of ex- 
tinguishing flres^ and of effecting an escape, in cases of danger, 
from that element ; the precautions requisite tobe attended to in the 
management of steam-engines,* &c. &c. But, as a minute ac- 
quaintance with some of these subjects supposes a greater degree 

* See Appendix, No. VIII. 
5* 



54 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Useful Knowledge easily acquired. 



of knowledge than could reasonbly be expected in the general 
mass of society, I shall not further enlarge. The few examples 
I have selected will, it is presumed, be sufficient to prove and 
illustrate the position stated in the beginning of this section," that 
knowledge would, in many cases, prevent dangers, diseases, and 
fatal accidents." If it be admitted that several hundreds of per- 
sons are annually destroyed by noxious gases, by the explosions 
of fire-damp in coal-mines, by the stroke of lightning, by their 
clothes catching fire, and other accidents ; and that several thou- 
sands are, during the same period, carried ofFby infectious disea- 
ses, and by those diseases which are the effects of contaminated 
air, and an improper mode of treatment during the first stages of 
infancy ; and if a general diffusion, of knowledge respecting the 
principles and facts adverted to above would have a tendency to 
prevent one-half the number of such physical evils as now happen, 
it will followthat several hundreds, if not thousands, of useful lives 
might annually be preserved to the community, and a great pro- 
portion of human suffering prevented ; and if so, the cause of 
humanity, as well as of science, is deeply interested in the general 
diffusion of useful knowledge among persons of every nation, and 
of every rank. 

In the conclusion of this topic it may be remarked, that the 
knowledge requisite for the purpose now specified is of easy ac- 
quisition. It requires no peculiar strength or superiority of genius, 
nor long and intricate trains of abstract reasoning ; but is capa- 
ble of being acquired by any person possessed of common sense 
when his attention is once thoroughly directed to its acquisition. 
As the food of the body which is the most salutary and nourishing 
is the most easily procured, so that kind of knowledge which is the 
most beneficial to mankind at large is, in general, the most easily ac- 
quired. Its acquisition would not in the least interfere with the 
performance of their regular avocations, as it could all be acquired 
at leisure hours; It would habituate them to rational reflections 
and trains of thought, and gradually unfold to their view new and 
interesting objects of contemplation. It would have a tendency 
to prevent them from spending their hours of leisure in folly or 
dissipation, and would form an agreeable relaxation from the se- 
verer duties of active life. 



PROGRESS OP GENERAL SCIENCE. 55 



The Extension of Knowledge. 



section in. 

On the Influence which a General Diffusion of Knowledge would 
have on the Progess of General Science. 

We have already seen that the diffusion of knowledge among 
the general mass of society would eradicate those false and super- 
stitious opinions which have so long degraded the human intellect ; 
would introduce just conceptions of the attributes of the Deity, and 
of his operations in the system of nature ; and would avert, or, at 
least, greatly mitigate, many of those physical evils to which the 
human race has been subjected. Although these were the only 
advantages to be derived from the general dissemination of know- 
ledge, they would be sufficient to warrant every exertion which 
the friends of science and of humanity can make to accomplish 
such an important object. But these are only a few of the many 
beneficial results which would, doubtless, flow from the progress 
of rational investigations and scientific pursuits. Knowledge, in 
its progress through the general mass of society, and among the 
various tribes of mankind, could not long remain confined within 
its present boundaries, but would, in all probability, enlarge its cir- 
cumference nearly in proportion to the extent of its diffusion. 
The man of erudition and of science, who now exerts his influence 
and his talents to enlighten the minds of his fellow-men, would be 
laying a foundation for the expansion of his own intellectual views, 
and of those of his successors in the same pursuits in future gene- 
rations. As a small body of snow, by rolling, gradually accumu- 
lates to a large mass, so that portion of knowledge we already 
possess, in its progress through the various ranks of mankind, 
would have its volume increased, and its present boundaries ex- 
tended, so that new scenes of intellectual vision and enjoyment 
would be continually opening to the view. In accordance with 
these views, I shall now proceed to illustrate the position, 

That a general diffusion of knowledge would tend to the rapid 
advancement of universal science. 

We are placed in the midst of a scene where a vast multiplicity 
of objects solicit our attention. Whether we look around on the 
surface of the earth, or penetrate into its bowels, or turn our eyes 
upwards to the surrounding atmosphere and the vault of heaven, 
we perceive an immense variety of beings, celestial and terrestrial, 



56 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

All Science founded on Facts. 



animated and inanimated, continually varying their aspects and 
positions, all differing from each other in certain points of view, yet 
connected together by various relations and resemblances. 

Science, in the most general and extensive sense of the term, 
consists in a perception of the resemblances and differences, or 
the relations which these objects have to one another, and to us 
as rational beings. To ascertain the almost infinite number of 
relations which subsist among the immense variety of objects 
which compose the material and intellectual universe, requires an 
immense multitude of observations, comparisons, and deductions 
to be made by a vast number of observers placed in various cir- 
cumstances and positions ; or, in other words, the discovery of an 
immense number of facts. All science may therefore be consider- 
ed as founded on facts; and perhaps there would be few exceptions 
to the truth of the position, were we to assert, that the most sub- 
lime truths and deductions, in every science, when stripped of all 
their adventitious circumstances, simplified, and expressed in the 
plainest and most perspicuous terms, may be reduced to so many 
facts. This position might be illustrated, were it necessary, by 
an induction of particulars from the various branches of mathe- 
matical and physical science. That " a whole is greater than 
any of its parts, " — that " the square described on the hypothenuse 
of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares de- 
scribed on its remaining sides," are facts, the one deduced from 
observation or simple intuition, the other from a series of com- 
parisons. That the sun is the centre around w T hich the planetary 
bodies revolve, — that a projectile describes a parabolic curve, — 
that the velocities of falling bodies are in proportion to the spaces 
run over, — that fluids press in all directions, — that the pressure 
of the atmosphere will support a column of water to the height of 
above thirty feet, — that the elastic spring of the air is equivalent to 
the force which compresses it, — that the angle of incidence of a 
ray of light is equal to the angle of reflection, — that the north pole 
of one magnet will attract the south pole of another, — that the air 
we breathe is a composition of oxygen and nitrogen, — and a 
variety of similar truths, — are facts, deduced either from simple 
observation and experiment, or from a comparison of a series of 
phenomena and experiments with each other. Now, every com- 
parison we make between two or more objects or ideas, is an act 
of the mind affirming a resemblance, or a disagreement between 
the objects compared ; which affirmation, if deduced from a clear 
view of the objects presented to the mind or senses, is the declara- 
tion of a fact. 

If the above sentiments are just, it will follow, that every person 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 67 



Industry of Sir Isaac Newton. 



possessed of an ordinary share of understanding, and whose organs 
of sensation are in a sound state, is capable of acquiring all the 
leading truths of the most useful sciences, since he enjoys the 
senses and faculties requisite for the observation of facts, and for 
comparing them with one another. And if such a person is ca- 
pable of receiving into his mind truths already ascertained, he is 
also, for the same reason, qualified for discovering new truths or 
facts, provided he be placed in such circumstances as shall have 
a tendency to present the objects of his pursuit in the clearest, 
point of view, that he have an opportunity of surveying them on 
all sides, and that his attention be firmly rivetted on their several 
aspects and relations. That one man, therefore, excels another 
in these respects, is chiefly owing to his mind being more particu- 
larly directed to the contemplation of certain objects and relations, 
and his mental faculties concentrated upon them. When a per- 
son devoted to scientific investigation discovers a new fact, it is 
not, in the majority of instances, because he possesses powers of 
intellect and organs of sensation superior to the ordinary endow- 
ments of humanity, but because he was placed in different 
circumstances, and had his attention directed to different ob- 
jects, and was thus enabled to perceive relations and combina- 
tions which had been either unnoticed by others, or which were 
placed beyond the range of their observation. Genius, then, 
which is generally attributed to such characters, may be consider- 
ed as consisting in a concentration of the rays of intellect upon 
any particular object, art, or science, arising from a lively taste 
we feel for that particular study. It may be compared to a burn- 
ing lens, where the scattered rays of light are rendered powerful 
by being collected into a point. 

In so far, then, as we are able to direct the faculties of the 
mind — however moderate a degree of vigour they may possess — 
to the fixed contemplation of scientific objects, in so far may we 
expect that new relations will be discovered and new truths 
elicited. Sir Isaac Newton was one day asked, " How he had 
discovered the true system of the universe'?" He replied, " By 
continually thinking upon it." He was frequently heard to declare, 
that " if he had done the world any services, it was due to no- 
thing but industry and patient thought, that he kept the subject 
under consideration constantly before him, and waited till the first 
dawning opened gradually, by little and little, into a full and clear 
light." Had this illustrious philosopher been born of barbarous 
parents in the wilds of Africa, had he been placed in circumstan- 
ces widely different from those in which he actually existed, or 
had not his attention, by some casual occurence, been directed to 



58 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Scientific Truths discovered from ordinary Events. 



the grand object which he accomplished, in all probability his mind 
would neverhave ranged through the celestial regions, nor have 
discovered the laws of the planetary motions. 

Many important scientific facts require only a certain combina- 
tion of circumstances to bring them to the view of any common 
observer. To discover the phases of the planet Venus, the satel- 
lites of Jupiter, and the elliptical figure of Saturn, after the teles- 
cope was invented, required no uncommon powers either of vision 
or of intellect in Galileo, who first brought these facts to view, how- 
ever superior the faculties he actually possessed. It only requir- 
ed that he had a previous knowledge of the existence of these 
planetary bodies, that his mind was interested in the extension of 
science, and that he foresaw a probability that new and interesting 
facts might be discovered by directing his newly invented instru- 
ment to the starry regions. And when once he had descried 
from his observatory such new celestial wonders, every other 
person whose organs of vision were not impaired, with a similar 
tube, might discover the same objects. Yet, for want of the quali- 
fications which Galileo possessed, the telescope might have long 
remained in the hands of thousands before such discoveries had 
been made ; and it is a fact, that though the telescope was in use a 
considerable time before Galileo made his discoveries, no person 
had previously thought of directing it to the planets ; at any rate, 
no discoveries had been made by it in the heavens. 

The discovery of new truths in the sciences therefore, is not, 
in most instances, to be ascribed to the exertions of extraordinary 
powers of intellect ; but, in a great majority, of cases, to the pecu- 
liar series of events that may occur in the case of certain indivi- 
duals, to the various circumstances and situations in which they 
may be placed, to the different aspects in which certain objects 
may be presented to their view, and sometimes to certain casual 
hints or occurences which directed their attention to particular 
objects. A spectacle-maker's boy, by an accidental experiment, 
led to the invention of the telescope; the remark of a fountain- 
player, who observed that water could rise only to thirty-two feet 
in the tubes of a forcing engine, led Galileo to calculate the gravity 
of the air. Newton's attention was first directed to a profound 
research into the laws of falling bodies, by the circumstance of an 
apple falling upon his head, as he was sitting under a tree in his 
garden, which led to the discovery of the grand principle which 
unites the great bodies of the universe. The well-known Mr. 
James Ferguson, author of several popular treatises on astronomy 
and mechanical philosophy, invented a system of mechanics, and 
ascertained the laws of the different mechanical powers, wh^* 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 59 

Ordinary Powers sufficient for Scientific Discoveries. 

only eight years of age, and before he knew that any treatise had 
ever been written on that subject. The accidental circumstance 
of seeing his father lift up the roof of his cottage, by means of a 
prop and lever, first directed his mind to these subjects, in which 
he afterwards made many useful improvements. 

If, then, it be admitted, that an extraordinary degree of intellec- 
tual energy and acumen is not necessary, in every instance, for 
making useful discoveries, — that the concentration of the mental 
faculties on particular objects and the various circumstances in 
which individuals may be placed, have led to the discovery of im- 
portant facts, — it will follow, that the exertion of the ordinary 
powers of intellect possessed by the mass of society is sufficient 
for the purpose of prosecuting scientific discoveries, and that the 
more the number of scientific observers and experimenters is in- 
creased among the inferior ranks of society, the more extensively 
will interesting facts and analogies be ascertained, from which 
new and important principles of science may be deduced. 

An ample field still remains for the exertion of all the energies 
of the human mind. The sciences are, as yet, far removed from 
perfection; sometrf them havebut lately commenced their progress, 
and some of their elementary principles still require to be esta- 
blished by future observations. The objects of nature which 
science embraces are almost infinite ; the existence of many of 
these objects has not yet been discovered, and much less their 
multiplied relations and combinations. The researches of ages 
are still requisite, in order thoroughly to explore the universe, and 
bring to view its hidden wonders. In order to bring to light, as 
speedily as possible, the undiscovered truths of science, we must 
endeavour to increase the number of those who shall devote them- 
selves, either wholly or in part, to scientific investigation and re- 
search. And were this object attained, in all probability the 
number of useful truths and facts which would be discovered 
would be nearly in proportion to the number of those whose at- 
tention is directed to such researches. 

This might be illustrated from the history of the past progress 
of science. In those ages when only a few solitary individuals, 
here and there, directed their attention to such pursuits, little or 
no progress was made in the various departments of human know- 
ledge ; nay, sometimes they appeared to have taken a retrograde 
course. During the dark ages, when the human mind, fettered 
by papal tyranny and superstition, and absorbed in sensual grati- 
fications, seldom made excursions into the regions of science, no 
useful discoveries were brought to light, — science was not only 
at a stand, but the knowledge and improvements of preceding 



60 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



London and Paris Acadmies of Science. 



ages were even in danger of being entirely obliterated. But no 
sooner had the human intellect burst its fetters, and the number of 
rational investigators begun to increase, — no sooner had they 
formed themselves into regular associations for scientific purposes, 
than Science and Art were aroused from the slumber of ages, 
and began to move forward towards perfection with accelerated 
progress. This may easily be traced by those who have attended 
to the history of science during the last 160 years. About the 
commencement of this period, the Academy of Sciences at Paris 
and the Royal Society of London were established. These 
soon gave birth to similar societies in almost every country in 
Europe ; and there can be no doubt that the advanced state of 
knowledge in the present day is chiefly to be attributed to the 
investigations and discoveries made by the members of those 
associations, to their joint co-operation in the propagation of use- 
ful knowledge, and to the stimulus they afforded to intellectual 
pursuits. 

Would we then accelerate the march of science far beyond the 
rate of its past and present progress, — would we wish to extend 
its range far beyond its present boundaries, — nothing is so likely to 
effectuate this end, as an increase of the number of scientific ex- 
perimenters and observers. Let a certain portion of rational in- 
formation be imparted to the great mass of mankind, — let intel- 
lectual acquirements be exhibited to them as the noblest objects 
of pursuit, and let them be encouraged to form associations for the 
purpose of mutual improvement and scientific research. By 
these means their attention would be directed to intellectual im- 
provement, a taste would be excited for rational investigations, 
which would stimulate them to make farther progress ; they would 
soon feel an interest in the objects of science, they would listen 
with pleasure to the accounts of discoveries which are gradually 
brought to light throughout the different regions of physical inves- 
tigation ; and would be stimulated, from a laudable ambition of 
distinguishing themselves as discoverers, as well from an innate 
love to the pursuit of knowledge, to observe those facts, to make 
those researches, and to institute those experiments that might 
have a tendency to enlarge the circle of human knowledge. Were 
the number of such persons increased but a thousand-fold, so that 
for every twenty scientific investigators now existing, twenty 
thousand were employed in surveying the various localities, aspects, 
and operations of nature, in the animal, vegetable, and mineral 
kingdoms, on the surface of the earth and the ocean, and in the 
celestial regions, — hundreds of new facts would, in all probability, 
be brought to light, for one that is now discovered by the present 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 61 

Intellectual Acquisitions. 

contracted circle of scientific men, from which new and important 
conclusions in the arts and sciences might be deduced. 

Nor let it be objected that the great bulk of mankind, particu- 
larly the middling and lower ranks of society, are incapable of 
making any important discoveries in science. If what we have 
already stated be correct, they are possessed of all the essential 
requisites, not only for acquiring the elementary principles of 
knowledge, but also for penetrating beyond the circle which marks 
the present boundaries of science. They are all organized in 
nearly the same manner (a few insulated individuals only except- 
ed,) and, consequently, have nearly an equal aptitude for the exer- 
cise of conception, judgment, and ratiocination. They have the 
same organs of sensation, and the same powers of intellect, as 
persons in the highest ranks of society. The grand scene of the 
universe is equally open to peasants and mechanics as to princes 
and legislators ; and they have the same opportunities of making 
observations on the phenomena of nature and the processes of 
art, — nay, in many instances, their particular situations and modes 
of life afford them peculiar advantages in these respects which are 
not enjoyed by persons of a superior rank. In short, they have 
the same innate curiosity and taste for relishing such investigations, 
provided the path of knowledge be smoothed before them, and 
their attention thoroughly directed to intellectual acquisitions. 

Nor, again, should it be objected that an attention to such ob- 
jects, and an exquisite relish for mental enjoyments, would unfit 
them for the ordinary duties of active life. Eveiy man, under a 
well-regulated government, enjoys a certain portion of leisure 
from the duties of his station, which in too many instances is wasted 
either in listless inaction, or in the pursuits of folly and dissipation. 
This leisure is all that is requisite for the purpose in view. It 
would only be requisite that, during its continuance, the train of 
their thoughts should be directed into a channel which would lead 
them to more pleasing associations, and more substantial plea- 
sures, than the general current of human thought is calculated to 
produce. That those who are in the habit ofexercising their facul- 
ties on rational subjects are thereby rendered more unfit for the 
common business of life, it would be absurd to suppose. He who 
habitually exercises his judgment on scientific objects is gradu- 
ally improving his mental powers, and must, from this very cir- 
cumstance, be better qualified than others for exercising them in 
his particular trade or profession. For the habit of exerting 
the intellectual faculties in any one department must necessarily 
fit them for vigorous exertion on any other object, whether me- 
chanical agricultural, social, or domestic, to which the attention may 
6 



02 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Science of Geology. 



be directed. The evils which at present derange the harmony of 
.society, so far from arising from a vigorous exertion of intellect, 
are to be ascribed, for the most part, to an opposite cause. The 
intellectual powers, in the case of the great bulk of mankind, lie in 
a great measure dormant, their energies are not sufficiently exerted 
in any department of active life ; and when occasionally roused 
from their inactivity, they are too frequently exercised in the arts 
of deception, of mischief, and of human destruction. To direct 
the current of human thought, therefore, into a different channel, 
besides its influence on the progress of science, would be produc- 
tive of many happy effects on the social and moral condition of 
mankind ; and as far as my experience goes, with a, very few ex- 
ceptions, I have found, that those who are addicted to rational 
pursuits are the most industrious and respectable members of civil 
and Christian society. 

The above hints have been thrown out with the intention of 
showing, that, as all science is founded on facts, and as every 
person possessed of the common organization of human nature is 
capable of observing facts, and of comparing them with one 
another, — as the discovery of new truths is owing more to the 
concentration of the mental faculties on particular objects, and to 
several accidental circumstances, than to the exertion of extraor- 
dinary powers of intellect, — and as the sciences have generally 
improved in proportion to the number of those who have devoted 
themselves to their cultivation, — so there is every reason to con- 
clude that the diffusion of general knowledge and of a scientific taste, 
and consequently the increase of scientific observers, would ensure 
the rapid advancement of the different sciences, by an increase 
of the facts in relation to them which would thus be discovered. 

I shall now endeavour to illustrate the positions stated above, by 
a few examples in relation to two or three of the physical sciences. 

Geology. — This science is yet in its infancy ; and some of its 
first principles require to be confirmed and illustrated by an induc- 
tion of an immense number of facts of various descriptions. It is 
a branch of knowledge altogether founded upon facts palpable to 
the eye of every common observer. Its object is, to investigate | 
the internal structure of the earth, — the arrangement of its compo- 
nent parts, — the changes which its materials have undergone since I 
its original formation, — and the causes which have operated in 
the production of these changes. To determine such objects, 
it is requisite that an immense variety of observations be made| 
on the form, position, and arrangement of mountains, — on the be< 
of rivers, — the interior of caverns, — the recesses of ravines, — th< 
subterraneous apartments of mines,— the fissures and chasmi 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 63 

Theories of the Earth. 



which abound in alpine districts, — and even on the bottom of the 
ocean, in s,o far as it can be explored , and that a multitude of facts 
be collected in relation to the materials and position, the elevation 
and inflection, the fraction and dislocation of the earth's strata — 
calcareous petrifactions — metallic veins — decomposed rocks — 
mosses — rivers — lakes — sand-banks — seacoast — the products of 
volcanoes — the composition of stone, sand, and gravel — the or- 
ganic remains of animal and vegetable matter, — in short, that the 
whole surface of the ten-aqueous globe, and its interior recesses, be 
contemplated in every variety of aspect presented to the view of 
man. The observations hitherto made in reference to such mul- 
tifarious objects have been chiefly confined to a few regions of the 
earth, and the facts which have been ascertained with any degree 
of precision, have been collected chiefly by a few individuals, 
within the last fifty or sixty years. From such partial and limited 
researches general principles have been deduced, and theories of 
the earth have been framed, which could only be warranted by 
a thorough examination of every region of the globe. Hence 
one theory of the earth has successively supplanted another for 
more than a century past. The theories of Burnet, Whiston, 
Woodward, Buffon, and Whitehurst, have each had its day and its 
admirers, but all of them are now fast sinking into oblivion, and 
in the next age will be viewed only as so many philosophical 
rhapsodies, and ingenious fictions of the imagination, which have 
no solid foundation in the actual structure of the earth. Even the 
foundations of the Huttonian and Wernerian systems, which have 
chiefly occupied the attention of geologists during the last thirty 
years, are now beginning to be shaken, and new systems are con- 
structing composed of the fragments of both. One principal 
reason of this diversity of opinion respecting the true theory of the 
earth undoubtedly is, that all the facts in relation to the external 
and internal structure of our globe have never yet been thoroughly 
explored. Instead of retiring to the closet, and attempting to 
patch up a theory with scattered and disjointed fragments, our pro- 
vince, in the mean time, is to stand in the attitude of surveyors 
and observers, to contemplate every aspect which terrestrial na- 
ture presents, to collect the minutest facts which relate to the ob- 
ject in view, and then leave to succeeding generations the tafck of 
constructing a theory from the materials we thus prepare. 

Were we now to suppose, that, instead of one observer of 
geological facts that now exists, thousands were distributed 
throughout the different continents and islands, having their minds 
occasionally directed to such investigations ; that the miners and la- 
bourers in coal-pits, iron-mines, and quarries, not only in Europe, 



64 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Natural History. 



but throughout Mexico and Peru, in the East and West Indies, in 
Canada, in New-Holland, in Southern Africa, in the ranges of the 
/Lips, the Andes, the Himalayas and other quarters, observed with 
attention the various phenomena of nature subject to their inspec- 
tion, with this object in view ; that sailors, missionaries, and tra- 
vellers of every description contemplated the different aspects of 
nature in the regions through which they passed, and recorded the 
facts which came under their observation, for a similar purpose ; 
and could we still farther suppose that the great body of mankind 
in every clime might, at no distant period, have their minds direct- 
ed to similar subjects, there cannot be the least doubt but an im- 
mense multitude of important facts would soon be accumulated, 
which would throw a striking light on the constitution of our plane- 
tary globe, and on the changes and revolutions through which it 
has passed, which would form a broad basis for the erection of a 
true theory of the earth, and tend either to establish or to over- 
throw the hypotheses which have hitherto been framed. Persons 
in the lower spheres of life have, in many cases, more frequent 
opportunities of ascertaining facts of the description to which I 
allude than many others who are placed in an elevated rank. 
Colliers, quarriers, miners of every description, and the inhabitants 
of alpine districts, are almost daily in contact with objects con- 
nected with geological research; and it is only requisite that 
their attention be directed to such inquiries — that the knowledge 
of a few elementary terms and principles be imparted to them — 
that they be directed to classify the facts which fall under their 
observation — and that a systematic list of queries, such as those 
published some years ago by the London " Geological Society," 
be put into their hands.* 

Statural History. — It is evident that the extension and improve- 

* The queries to which I refer may be seen in the " Monthly Magazine" 
for June, 1817, p. 436 — 9. A few years ago, some interesting fossil remains, 
supposed to be the teeth and other bones of the extinct animal designated by 
the name of Mammoth, were almost entirely destroyed through the ignorance 
of some labourers in the parish of Horley, who happened to hit upon them 
when dig _ ing graveL After cleaving them to pieces with their pick-axes, and 
finding it added nothing to their store of knowledge, " they threw away the 
fragments among the heaps of gravel, and the subject was consigned to oblivion; 
and it was only by accident that two entire teeth were found by a gentleman 
in the neighbourhood. The bones supposed to have been either destroyed or 
lost arc a very large bone, supposed to have been a thigh-bone, a huge blade- 
bone, and a tusk of ivory, perfect in its form, described as being about half a 
rod in length." Had these labourers been aware of the interesting nature of 
, they might have been all preserved entire ; and this circumstance 
shows how important such occurrences, and the observations and researches 
of common labourers, might sometimes prove to the geologist and the general 
student of nature* 






ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 65 

Curious Facts in Natural History. 



ment of this department of knowledge depends almost entirely 
on observation. Although a considerable accession has of late 
years been made to cur knowledge in this branch of study, yet 
much still remains to be accomplished before all the objects it 
embraces be thoroughly explored. Our acquaintance with the 
zoology, botany, and mineralogy of New-Holland, Polynesia, 
Birmah, China, Tartary, Tibet, Africa, and America, is extreme- 
ly limited ; and even within the limits of Europe, numerous un- 
explored regions still lie open to the future researches of the 
natural historian. So numerous are the objects and investiga- 
tions which natural history presents, that although its cultivators 
were increased ten thousand fold, they would find sufficient em- 
ployment in the prosecution of new T discoveries for many centu- 
ries to come. Even those minute objects, in the animal and 
vegetable kingdoms, which lie beyond the natural sphere of hu- 
man vision, and which the microscope alone can discover, w r ould 
afford scope for the investigations of thousands of ingenious in- 
quirers, during an indefinite series of ages. And it ought never 
to be forgotten, that every new object and process we are enabled 
to trace in this boundless field of observation, presents to us the 
Deity in a new aspect, and enables us to form more enlarged con- 
ceptions of that power and intelligence which produced the im- 
mense assemblage of beings with which we are surrounded. 

Independently of the additions that might be made to our know- 
ledge of animals, vegetables, and minerals, there are several facts 
in natural history which might be more precisely ascertained and 
explained, were common labourers and others in the same rank of 
life inspired with the spirit of philosophical observation. For 
the illustration of this, I shall state only one particular circum- 
stance. It is a fact, which however inexplicable, must be admit- 
ted, that toads have been found alive in the heart of solid rocks, 
and in the trunks of trees, where they have been supposed to have 
existed for ages without any apparent access to nourishment or 
to air. Such facts are supported by so numerous and so respec- 
table authorities, that it would be vain to call in question their 
reality ; and they assume a more mysterious aspect, from the 
circumstance, that toads, when placed in the exhausted receiver 
of an air-pump, like all other animals, soon lose their existence. 
That the toad is not the only animal which has been found in 
similar instances appears from a notice in the Mouthy Magazine 
for April, 1817, which states, that " a large lizard or serpent was 
found by some miners, imbedded in a stratum of mineral sub- 
tance, and lived for some time after it was extricated. " As the 
mineral substance in which this animal was found was at the bot- 
6* 






6G ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Meteorology. 



torn of a do op mine, and connected with the surrounding strata, 
we are almost under the necessity of concluding that it must have 
existed in that state for many years. Now, it is proper to take 
into consideration, that such facts have been discovered, in the 
first instance, by labourers, quarriers, miners, and others engaged 
in laborious occupations, who, with the limited knowledge they pre- 
sently possess, are unqualified for attending to all the circumstan- 
ces which require to be noticed in conducting philosophical resear- 
ches. Were persons of this description accustomed to examine 
every uncommon occurence of this kind with a philosophic eye ; 
were they, in such cases as to those to which I have now referred, 
to examine, with accuracy, whether chinks or fissures, either hori- 
zontal or perpendicular, existed in the rocks, or were connected 
with the holes or vacuities of the old trees, where toads were 
found alive ; and were every other circumstance which a scien- 
tific investigator would take into account accurately observed 
and recorded, such observations might ultimately lead to some 
rational explanations of such unaccountable facts. At any rate, 
as those who belong to that class of society to which I allude 
have many opportunities of contemplating the various objects 
and operations of the material world, their accumulated observa- 
tions, when scientifically directed, could not fail of enlarging our 
knowledge of facts in several departments of the history of 
nature. 

Meteorology. — In this department of physical science, nume- 
rous facts still remain to be ascertained, before we can attempt to 
explain the causes of various interesting phenomena. We have 
hitherto been unable to collect with precision all the facts in rela- 
tion to the diversified phenomena of the atmosphere, and are still 
at a loss to explain, on known principles, the causes which operate 
in producing many atmospherical appearances. We are still in a 
great measure ignorant of the aurora borealis, with respect to its 
nature and origin, its distance from the surface of the earth, what 
precise connexion it has with the magnetic and electric fluids, and 
why it has been frequently seen at some periods, and been invisible 
at others. We are in a similar state of ignorance in regard to 
luminous and fiery meteors, — as to their different species and 
varieties, the velocity and direction of their motions, their influence 
on other atmospherical phenomena, on vegetation, and on the 
weather, and the principles in nature which operate in their pro- 
duction. Although the general cause of thunder-storms is in 
some measure ascertained, yet we are ignorant of the causes of a 
variety of phenomena with which they are sometimes accom- 
panied, and of some of the chemical agents by which they are 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 67 



The Aurorae Boreales, 



produced. To determine the origin of meteoric stones, the parti- 
cular regions in which they are produced, the causes of their ex- 
treme velocity, the oblique direction of their motion, and the 
agents which concur in their formation, has hitherto baffled the 
researches of the whole philosophical world. Even the nature 
of the clouds, their various modifications, their different electric 
states, the causes which combine to produce their precipitation 
into rain, the nature of evaporation, together with an immense 
number of facts requisite for laying the foundation of a correct 
theory of the weather, are still hidjn obscurity. 

It is obvious, that a thorough knowledge of atmospherical phe- 
nomena cannot be acquired, before we have ascertained, not 
only the particular facts and appearances connected with the at- 
mosphere, but all the preceding, concomitant, and consequent 
circumstances with which they are generally accompanied ; and 
to determine such particulars requires an immense variety of ob- 
servations, both by day and by night, through all the regions of 
the earth. Before such facts be more fully ascertained, our at- 
tempts to account for various atmospherical phenomena must prove 
unsatisfactory and abortive. Hence, the causes assigned by phi- 
losophers of the last century for the production of rain, hail, dew, 
fire-balls, and other meteors, are now considered nugatory and 
erroneous : and few will be bold enough to maintain that we have 
yet arrived at the knowledge of the true causes. If these senti- 
ments be admitted, it will follow, that an increased number of 
observers of the scenery of the atmosphere, in different climates, 
with a scientific object in view, could not fail of increasing our 
knowledge both of the phenomena which take place in the regions 
of the atmosphere, and of the powers of nature which operate in 
their production. 

With respect to the anroroz boreales, some data might be ascer- 
tained for determining their height above the surface of the earth, 
which might lead to a discovery of their true cause, were a multi- 
tude of observers, in different places, at the same moment, to take 
the altitude and bearing of any particular coruscation, particularly 
of the modification of this phenomenon, which assumes the form 
of a rainbow or luminous arch, which can instantly be done by 
noting the series of stars which appear about the middle or sides 
of the arc at any particular instant. By this means the parallactic 
angle might be found, and the distances of the places of observa- 
tion, or their difference of latitude, if directly north and south of 
each other, would form base lines for determining the perpendicu- 
lar elevation of the phenomenon. In reference to luminous meteors, 
as they are most frequently seen in the night-time, men of science 



63 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Astronomy. 



and persons of elevated rank have seldom opportunities of observ- 
ing their diversified phenomena, and the circumstances with which 
they are preceded and accompanied. But while persons of this 
class are reclining on beds of down, or regaling themselves at the 
festive board, hemmed in from the view of the surrounding sky by 
the walls and curtains of their splendid apartments, many in the 
lower walks of life are " keeping watch by night," or travelling 
from place to place, who have thus an opportunity of observing 
every variety of atmospherical phenomena ; and it is not unlikely 
may have seen several species of luminous and fiery meteors un- 
known to the scientific world. Were persons of this description, 
particularly watchmen, soldiers, sailors, mail-coach guards, police- 
men, and such like, capable of observing such appearances with 
scientific interest and accuracy, and of recording their observa- 
tions, various important additions might be made to the facts which 
compose the natural history of the atmosphere. 

Similar additions might be made to our knowledge of thunder- 
storms, were their phenomena and concomitant circumstances 
accurately noted by vast a number of persons in different places. 
It might, for example, be determined, from a multitude of obser- 
vations made with this special object in view, at what distance 
from the earth a thunder-cloud may explode without danger ? — in 
w T hat circumstances, and at what elevation it generally attains its 
striking distance, and brings us within the range of its destructive 
influence ? — what particular effects, hitherto unobserved, are pro- 
duced by lightning on animal, vegetable, and mineral substances ?-- 
to what practical purposes its agency might be applied, — and how 
its destructive ravages might be averted or diminished? The 
same remarks will apply to the singular phenomenon of meteoric 
stones. These have seldom been observed at the instant of their 
descent by men addicted to philosophical research ; but chiefly by 
peasants, labourers, and mechanics, who, at present, are generally 
unqualified for attending to every circumstance in the preceding 
and concomitant phenomena connected with their descent, with 
the discerning eye of a philosopher ; and, therefore, we may still 
be ignorant of certain important facts in the history of the fall of 
these bodies, which may long prevent us from forming any ration- 
al theory to explain their causes, or to determine the regions whence 
their origin is derived. 

Astronomy, — My next illustration shall be taken from the 
science of astronomy. Though this is among the oldest of the 
sciences, and its general principles are established with greater 
precision than those of almost any other department of science, 
yet many desiderata requisite to its perfection, still remain to be 



ON THE PROMOTION OP 6CIENCE. 69 

Particulars in Astronomy not yet ascertained. 

ascertained. The late discovery of several new planets, both 
primary and secondary, leads us to conclude that other globes of 
a similar nature, belonging to our system, may still lie hid in the 
distant spaces of the firmament. The spheroidal figure of some 
of the planets — their periods of rotation — the nature of the changes 
which appear to take place on their surfaces or in their atmospheres 
— the precise nature of the solar spots, the causes of their changes, 
and the influence which those changes produce on our earth or 
atmosphere — the parallax of the fixed stars — the rate of motion 
of the planetary system in absolute space — the gradual forma- 
tion of nebulae — the nature of variable stars — the number of 
comets, their periods, the nature of their tails and atmospheres, 
and their uses in the system of nature — with many other interest- 
ing particulars of a similar description, still remain to be ascer- 
tained. To determine such objects requires a multiplicity of 
long-continued observations in every region of the heavens ; and 
it must be evident that the more we increase the number of astro- 
nomical observers, the greater chance we shall have of acquiring 
a more accurate and comprehensive knowledge of the bodies, 
which roll in the distant regions of the universe, and of the rela- 
tions they bear to one another, and to the whole system of nature. 
This position might be illustrated by a few examples. The 
surface of Jupiter has been found to be diversified with a variety 
of spots and belts : the belts, which are considerably darker than 
the general surface of the planet, are observed to vary in their 
number, distance, and position. Sometimes only one or two, and 
sometimes seven or eight belts have been observed ; sometimes 
they are quite distinct, and at other times they seem to run into 
each other ; and, in some instances, the whole surface of this 
planet has appeared to be covered with small curved belts that were 
not continuous across his disk. 

The following figures represent some of the diversified views 
which Jupiter sometimes exhibits. 



70 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



1 )ifferent Appearances of the Planet Jupiter. 




Fig. 1 is copied from Dr. Long, and appears to be one of th 
views of this planet taken by the celebrated Cassini. It consis* 
of about nine different belts. Fig. 2 is copied from Schroeter 
and exhibits a view of Jupiter about the time of its occupation by 
the moon, on the 7th of April, 1792. Fig. 3 is one of Sir W. 
Herschel's views of this planet, as it appeared on the 28th May, 
1780, when the whole disk of Jupiter appeared covered with small 
curved belts, or rather lines, that were not continuous across his 
disk. Fig. 4 contains a view which is nearly the appearance 
which Jupiter exhibits at present, and which is not much different 
from his appearance for several years past. These appearances 
may be seen by a good achromatic telescope, magnifying from 
80 to 150 times. These views demonstrate, that changes of con- 
siderable magnitude are occasionally taking place, either on the 
surface or in the atmosphere of this planet, which it would be of 
some importance to ascertain, in order to our acquiring a more 
intimate knowledge of the physical constitution of this globe. 



ON THE PROMOTION OP SCIENCE. 71 



The Planet Venus. 



Now, were a number of observers, in different places, to mark 
these appearances, and to delineate the aspect of this planet dur- 
ing the space of two or three periodical revolutions,* marking the 
periods of the different changes, and noting at the same time the 
positions of his satellites — it might be ascertained, whether these 
changes are occasioned by tides, which are differently affected 
according to the position of his moons, or by immense strata of 
clouds, or other changes that take place in his atmosphere, or by 
some great physical revolutions which are occasionally agitating 
the surface of this planet. The observers of such facts behove 
to be numerous, in order that the deficiencies of one might be 
supplied by another, and the general conclusions deduced from a 
comparison of all the observations taken together ; and it would 
be requisite that the places of observation be in different countries, 
that the deficiency of observations in one place, occasioned by a 
cloudy atmosphere, might be compensated by those made in the 
serene sky of another. Such a series of observations, although 
they should not lead to satisfactory conclusions in relation to the 
particulars now stated, could scarcely fail of throwing some addi- 
tional light on the nature and constitution of this planet. 

With respect to the planet Venus, the author some time ago 
ascertained, from observation,! that this planet may be distinctly 
seen in the daytime, at the time of its superior conjunction with 
the sun, when it presents to the earth a full enlightened hemi- 
sphere ; provided its geocentric latitude, or distance from the sun's 
centre at the time, be not less than 1° 43/ This is the only po- 
sition (except at the time of a transit, which happens only once or 
twice in a hundred years) in which the polar and equatorial dia- 
meters of this planet can be measured, and their difference, if any, 
ascertained, so as to determine whether its figure, like that of the 
earth and several other planets be spheroidical. But as this 
planet may not happen for a series of years to be in the precise 
position for such an observation, the attempt to determine the 
points now stated, even when the planet happens to be placed in 
the requisite circumstances, would, in all probability, fail, if a 
number of observers at the same time, in different places, were 
not engaged in the observation ; on account of the uncertainty of 
enjoying a serene sky at one particular place, during the moments 
when the observation behoved to be made. Whereas, by a mul- 

* The annual or periodical revolution of Jupiter is completed in about 
eleven years and ten months. 

t See Nicholson's Phil. Journal, vol. xxxvi. for Oct. 1813; Edin. Phil. 
Journal, No. V. for July, 1820 ; Monthly Mag. Feb. 1814, and August, 1820, 
P. 62 ; Scot's Magazine fbr 1814, p. 84, &a 



72 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

— ■■■-■ ■ ■ 

Rotation of the Planet Venus. 



titude of observations in different places, the object in view could 
not fail of being determined. The disputes respecting the period 
of rotation of this planet (whether it be 23 hours 20 minutes, or 24 
days S hours) might also be settled, were a number of persons to 
observe its surface with equatorial telescopes in the daytime ; par- 
ticularly in those southern climes where the air is serene, and the 
sky exhibits a deep azure, where, in all probability, spots would 
be discovered, winch could be traced in their motions for succes- 
sive periods of twelve hours or more, which would determine to a 
certainty the point in question. 

The following figure and explanation will perhaps tend to show 
the reason of the dispute which has arisen in reference to this 
point. Let A represent a spot on the surface of Venus. As 
this planet is seen, by the naked eye, only in the morning a little 




before sunrise, or in the evening a short time after sunset — the 
motion of the spot cannot be traced above an hour or two in suc- 
cession ; and, consequently, during that time, its progressive 
motion is almost imperceptible. Suppose the observation to have 
been made in the evening, after sunset ; the next observation can- 
not be made till about the same time on the following evening 
when it is found that the spot has moved from A to B. But it is 
still uncertain whether the spot has only moved from A to B 
since the last observation, or has finished a complete revolution, 
and moved the distance AB as part of another revolution round 
the axis of the planet. This point can only be ascertained by 
tracing the motion of the spot without interruption for 10, 12, or 14 
hours, when, if the rotation is performed in 23J hours, the motion 
of the spot could be traced without interruption across the whole 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 


73 


Comets. 

— 


i 



disk of the planet. But such an observation could only be made 
in the daytime, in a serene sky, and by means of equatorial instru- 
ments, and by numbers of observers in different places where the 
attention is directed to the same object. But the limits to which 
I am confined, in throwing out these cursory hints, prevent me 
from entering into minute details. 

In regard to comets, it is scarcely necessary to remark, that 
were the number of those whose attention is directed to a survey 
of the heavens considerably increased, many of those eccentric 
bodies which pass and repass within the orbits of the planets 
without being perceived, could not fail of being detected. Were 
multitudes of such persons engaged in exploring the celestial 
regions on opposite sides of the globe, those comets which pass 
within the limits of our view, and which are above our horizon only 
in the daytime, and consequently invisible, would be detected dur- 
ing the night by our antipodes in the opposite regions of the globe. 
By this means the number of those bodies belonging to our sys- 
tem, the diversified phenomena they present, the form of their 
trajectories, the periods of their revolutions, the nature of their 
tails, and their ultimate destination, might be more accurately de- 
termined. With respect to the fixed stars, particularly those 
termed variable stars, the results of a multitude of observations 
made by different persons, might lead us to determine whether 
those changes in brightness which they undergo arise from the 
transits of large planets revolving around them, and thus furnish 
direct evidence of their being the centres of systems analogous 
to our own, — or whether they be occasioned by large spots which 
periodically interpose between our sight, and then disappear in the 
course of their rotation, — or whether the distance of such stars 
be changed by their revolving in a long narrow eclipse, whose trans- 
verse axis is situated nearly in our line of vision. In the several 
instances now stated, an immense variety of successive observa- 
tions, by numerous observers at different stations, are requisite to 
accomplish the ends in view ; but the limits of this section prevent 
me from entering into those details requisite for rendering the 
hints now suggested perspicuous to those who have not devoted 
their attention to this subject. 

The Moon being the nearest celestial body to the earth, it 
might have been expected that the variety of scenery on her sur- 
face, and even some parts of her physical constitution, might have 
been ascertained and delineated. Yet all that has hitherto been 
discovered with certainty in relation to this body is, that her surface 
is strikingly diversified with mountains and valleys, with vast 
caverns or hollows surrounded with mountainous ridges, and with 
7 



74 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

The Moon. 

several elevated peaks, which rise, like a sugar-loaf, from the mid- 
dle of the plains. We have no accurate delineation of the lunar 
scenery, as exhibited in the various stages of the moon's increase 
and decrease, except those which have been published by Heve- 
lius and Scroeter, which have never been translated into our lan- 
guage, and, consequently, are very little known. Most of our 
English books on astronomy contain nothing more than a paltry 
and inaccurate view of the full moon, which has been copied by 
one engraver from another, without any improvements, ever since 
the days of Ricciolus, and long before the telescope was brought 
to its present state of improvement. It is not from a telescopic 
view of the full moon that any specific deductions can be made 
respecting the appearance and arrangement of her diversified sce- 
nery ; but from long-continued observations of her surface about 
the period of the quadratures, and at the times when she assumes 
a cresent or a gibbous phase ; for it is only at such times that the 
shadows of her cavities and mountain-ridges can be distinctly per- 
ceived. As there is none of the celestial bodies whose constitu- 
tion and scenery we have so excellent an opportunity of inspecting, 
had we a sufficient number of astronomical observers, furnished 
with good telescopes, the surface of this globe might be almost as 
accurately delineated as that of the earth, and the most prominent 
changes that take place on its surface plainly detected. In order 
to bring to light the minute parts of its scenery, it would only 
be requisite to distribute the entire surface of this luminary among 
a hundred or a thousand observers, allotting to each one or more 
spots as the particular object of his attention, with the understand- 
ing that he is to inspect them with care through every variety of 
shade they may exhibit, and during the different stages of the 
moon's increase and decrease, and delineate the different aspects 
they may present. When we consider, that by means of a tele- 
scope which magnifies 200 times, an object on the moon that mea- 
sures only 600 yards may be perceived as a visible point, and by one 
which magnifies 800 times, an object not larger than 150 yards in 
diameter may be distinguished — we can scarcely entertain a doubt 
that a number of interesting discoveries might soon be made on 
the lunar surface, were such minute observations as those now 
suggested to be continued for a series of years, which might afford 
sensible and demonstrative evidence of the moon's being a habi- 
table world. But before attention to such objects become gene- 
ral, and the number of astronomical observers be increased far 
beyond what it is at present, such discoveries can scarcely be ex- 
pected. 

I shall only remark further on this head, that several discove- 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 75 

Accidental Discoveries of heavenly Bodies. 

ries have been made by accidentally directing a telescope to cer- 
tain parts of the heavens. It is well known that Miss Herschel, 
while amusing herself in looking at the heavens through Sir 
Wm. Herschel's telescope, discovered at different times a variety 
of comets, which might otherwise have passed unnoticed by the 
astronomical world ; and several of the new planets which have 
been discovered within the last fifty or sixty years, were detected 
when the discoverers were employed making observations with a 
different object in view. The splendid comet which appeared in our 
hemisphere in 1811 was first discovered in this country by a saiv- 
t/er,* who, with a reflecting telescope of his own construction, and 
from his saiopit as an observatory, described that celestial visitant 
before it had been noticed by any other astronomer in North Britain. 
The author of this work detected this comet a day or two after- 
ward, before he had been informed of the discovery, while he was 
taking a random sweep over the northern region of the heavens. 
He had directed his telescope to a certain star in the neighbourhood 
of Ursa Major, and immediately afterward, taking a general sweep 
upwards and downwards, and to the east and west, an uncommon 
object appeared in the field of view, w T hich, after a little inspection 
was perceived to be a comet, and he naturally concluded that he 
had made the first discovery, till the newspapers afterward in- 
formed him that it had been detected a day or two before. It 
was while Sir W. Herschel was inspecting some small stars near 
the foot of Castor, with a different object in view, that he disco- 
vered the planet which bears his name, and which he at first took 
for a comet. It had been seen thirty years before, but for want 
of numerous observers to mark its motions, it had been marked 
in catalogues as a fixed star. It was while Mr. Harding of Lili- 
enthal, near Bremen, was forming an atlas of the stars so far as 
the eighth magnitude, that, on the 1st September, 1804, he disco- 
vered in the constellation Pisces the planet Juno, one of the four 
asteroids situated between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. 

If, therefore, instead of a few individuals occasionally engaged 
in surveying celestial phenomena, and chiefly confined to a small 
portion of Europe, — were thousands and ten thousands of telescopes 
daily directed to the sky from every region of the earth, and were 
distinct portions of the heavens allotted to distinct classes of obser- 
vers, as the object of their more immediate research, every portion 
of that vast concave, with the numerous globes which roll within its 
wide circumference, as far as human vision assisted by art can 

* The name of this gentleman is Mr. Veitch, and I believe he resides in the 
neighbourhood of Kelso. 



76 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Chemistry. 

penetrate, would ere long be thoroughly explored, and its hidden 
worlds disclosed to view. No comet could pass within the orbit 
of Jupiter without being detected, — the undiscovered planets be- 
longing to our system, if any still remain, would be brought to 
view, — the periodical changes on the surfaces and in the atmos- 
pheres of the planets already discovered, with all their diversified 
phenomena, would be more accurately ascertained and delineated, 
— the path of the solar system in absolute space, the velocity of 
its motion, the distant centre about which it revolves, and the 
centre of gravity of the nebula to which it belongs, might be 
determined, — the changes and revolutions that are taking place 
among the fixed stars, — the undiscovered strata of nebulae, — the 
old systems that are going into decay, — the new creations that 
may be emerging into existence, and many other sublime objects 
which at present lie concealed in the unexplored regions of space, 
might be brought within the range of human contemplation, and 
astronomy, the sublimest of all the sciences, approximate towards 
perfection. 

For making the observations now supposed, a profound know- 
ledge of the physical and mathematical principles of astronomy 
is not absolutely necessary. All the qualifications essentially 
requisite are, — a general knowledge of the elements of the science, 
of the celestial phenomena which have already been explored, and 
of the method of determining the right ascension and declination 
of any observed phenomenon, — qualifications which every person 
of common understanding can easily acquire. 

I might next have illustrated the general position laid down in 
the beginning of this section from the science of chemistry. This 
science, having for its object to ascertain the ingredients that 
enter into the composition of bodies, the nature of those' ingre- 
dients, the manner in which they combine, and the properties 
resulting from their combination, — or, in other words, an analy- 
tical examination of the material world, and the principles which 
concur to produce its diversified phenomena ; it is apparent, at 
first view, that an immense number and variety of experiments are 
indispensably requisite for accomplishing such objects ; and, 
consequently, that its progress towards perfection cannot be 
accelerated unless multitudes of experimenters concur in ob- 
serving the phenomena of nature, and the processes of the arts, 
in instituting analytical experiments, and in prosecuting every 
inquiry which has a tendency to promote its improvement. It 
is chiefly in consequence of the 'increased number of its cultivators 
that this science has risen to the distinguished rank it now holds 
among the useful departments of human knowledge, and that so 



ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 77 



Discarded Theories. 



many brilliant discoveries have rewarded the investigations of its 
votaries. Wrenched from the grasp of empirics and alchymists, 
and no longer confined to the paltry object of searching for the phi- 
losopher's stone, it extends its range over every object in the ma- 
terial world, and sheds its influence over all the other departments 
of physical science ; and as its votaries increase in numbers and 
in perseverance it will doubtless bring to light scenes and disco- 
veries still more interesting and brilliant than those which have 
hitherto been disclosed. Illustrations of the same description 
might also have been taken from optics, electricity, magnetism, 
galvanism, pneumatics, and other departments of natural science ; 
but having protracted this section to a disproportionate length, the 
instances already stated will, I presume, be sufficient to prove the 
truth of the position, " that a general diffusion of knowledge would 
have a powerful influence on the progress of science ." 

From the few hints now given, and from many others that might 
have been suggested, had my limits permitted, it will appear, that 
much still remains to be accomplished till any science, even those 
which are farthest advanced, arrive at perfection. The reason is 
obvious ; the scene of universal nature has never yet been thorough- 
ly surveyed, and never will be, till the eyes and the intellects of 
millions be fixed in the contemplation of its multifarious and diver- 
sified objects and relations. Till the universe, in all its aspects, 
so far as it lies within the range of human inspection, be more 
particularly explored, clouds and darkness will continue to rest 
on many interesting departments of knowledge, and many of 
our most specious theories in the sciences must be considered as 
reposing on slender and unstable foundations. Prior to the in- 
troduction of the inductive method of philosophizing, men of 
science were extremely prone to the framing of hypotheses, before 
they had attentively surveyed and collected the requisite facts, 
and when only a few scattered fragments of nature were present 
to their view. Theory was reared upon theory, and system upon 
system ; each of them obtained its admirers and its period of ap- 
plause, but, in consequence of modern researches, they have now 
passed away like a dream or a vision of the night. The crystal- 
line spheres with which Ptolemy had enclosed the heavens are 
now dashed to pieces ; the vortices of Des Cartes have long since 
ceased their whirling ; the terraqueous globe which Tycho had 
fixed in the centre of the universe is now set in rapid motion 
through the heavens, in company with the planetary orbs ; and 
the abyss of water with which Burnet had filled the internal cavity 
of the earth is now converted into amass denser than the solid 
rock. The Terror Australis Incognito, which served as a prop 
7* 



78 OX THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Complexity of Nature. 

to certain theories has completely evanished) and is now transform- 
ed into a dreary mass of water and ice. The subtile ether, which 
formerly accounted for so many phenomena, is now evaporated 
into electricity and heat. Winston's idea of the cometary origin 
of our globe] and BurTon's fancy of the earth's being a splinter 
struck from the body of the sun, are fast sinking into oblivion ; 
and such will be the fate of every theory, however specious, which 
is not founded on the broad basis of inductive evidence. 

Even in the present day, there is still too great a propensity to 
generalize, without submitting to the trouble of observing phe- 
nomena, and noting their various modifications and attendant 
circumstances. The human mind is impatient, and attempts to 
reach the goal by the shortest and most rapid course, while obser- 
vation and experiment are tedious and slow. Instead of survey- 
ing the material world with his own eyes, and investigating, by 
observation and experiment, its principles and laws, the man of 
genius frequently shuts himself up in his closet, and from a few 
scattered fragments of nature, constructs, in his imagination, a 
splendid theory, which makes a noise and ablaze for a little, like 
an unsubstantial meteor, and then evanishes into air. The sys- 
tem of nature, though directed in its general movements by a few 
simple laws, is too grand and extensive, and too complex in many of 
its parts, to be grasped by a few individuals, after a cursory survey; 
and, therefore, to attemptto comprehend its multifarious revolutions, 
phenomena and objects within the range of theories founded on a 
partial view of some of its detached parts, is not only an evidence 
of presumption and folly, but tends to damp our ardour in prosecu- 
ting the only sure path which leads to discovery, and to frustrate 
what appears to be one of the designs of the Creator, namely, to 
grant to the intelligent inhabitants of our globe a gradual display 
of his stupendous plans in the universe as the reicard of their in- 
cessant and unwearied contemplation of his ivondrous ivorks. 

Were the period arrived (and of its arrival I entertain no doubt, 
from the present movements of the human mind) when the ma- 
jority of mankind shall devote a portion of their time and attention 
to the purposes of science, and to the contemplation of nature — 
then the different tastes of individuals, and the various situations 
in which they may be placed, would lead them to cultivate more 
particularly the science most congenial to their minds ; and were 
distinct departments of the same science marked out for distinct 
classes of individuals, as the more immediate field of their inves- 
t gation, on the principle of the division of labour, every leading 
principle and fact in relation to that science would soon be detect- 
ed and illustrated in all its practical bearings. Even as matters 






ON THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE. 79 

Humboldt's Observations. 



presently stand, were the whole literary and scientific world to 
form itself into one great republic, and to allot the several branches 
of every department of knowledge to the different classes of such 
a community, according to their respective tastes and pursuits, 
as the object of their more particular attention, it might be fol- 
lowed by many interesting results, and important discoveries and 
improvements. But we live in too early a period in the history of 
science to expect a general interest to be taken in such objects ; 
we are but just emerging from the gloom of ignorance and super- 
stition ; the great body of mankind still suffer their faculties to lie 
in a state of languor and inactivity, and those who are more vigor- 
ous and alert are too much engrossed in commercial speculations, 
in grasping at power and opulence, and in the indulgence of sen- 
sual gratifications, to think of attending to the interests of science 
and the progress of the human mind. Much, however, might be 
accomplished in this respect, with ease and pleasure, by various 
classes of society, and without interfering with their ordinary avo- 
cations, were their minds inclined and their attention directed to 
such pursuits. Sailors, in crossing the Atlantic, the Pacific, and 
the Indian oceans, have frequently excellent opportunities of ob- 
serving the phenomena of the waters, the atmosphere, and the 
heavens, peculiar to the climates through which they pass : and 
were the facts presented to their view observed with care, classifi- 
ed, and recorded, they might, in many instances, contribute to the 
advancement of science. But thousands of such persons can sail 
twice "from Indus to the frozen pole, as ignorant as their log, and 
as stubborn as their compass," without importing one intellectual 
acquisition. The observations made during a single voyage across 
the Atlantic, by a single observer, M. Humboldt, on the aspect 
of the Antarctic region of the heavens — the peculiar azure of the 
African sky — the luminous meteors of the atmosphere — the tides, 
the currents and the different colours of the ocean, and other phe- 
nomena which happened to present themselves to his view — are of 
more value to the scientific world than the observations often thou- 
sands of other beings who, for a series of years, have traversed the 
same regions. Yet these possessed, on an average, the same sen- 
tient organs, the same intellectual powers, though somewhat dif- 
ferently modified and directed, the same natural capacities for ob- 
servation as this distinguished philosopher, which required only 
an impulse to be given in a certain direction, in order to accom- 
plish the same ends. And was Humboldt more burdened and 
perplexed, or did he feel less comfortable and happy, than his ig- 
norant and grovelling associates in the ship that wafted them 
across the ocean ? No. He felt emotions of delight and intel- 



SO ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



How to advance the Cause of Science. 



lectual enjoyments to which they were utter strangers. While 
they were lolling on their hammocks, or loitering upon deck, view- 
ing every object with a "brute unconscious gaze," and finding no 
enjoyment but in a glass of grog, — a train of interesting reflections, 
having a relation to the past, the present, and the future, passed 
through the mind of this philosopher. He felt those exquisite emo- 
tions which arise from a perception of the beautiful and the sub- 
lime, he looked forward to the advancement of natural science as 
the result of his observations, and beheld a display of the wisdom 
and grandeur of the Almighty in the diversified scenes through 
which he passed. Such observations and mental employments as 
those to which I allude, so far from distracting the mind, and un- 
fitting it for the performance of official duties, would tend to prevent 
that languor and ennui which result from mental inactivity, and 
would afford a source of intellectual enjoyment amid the uniform- 
ity of scene which is frequently presented in the midst of the ocean. 
From the whole that has been now stated on this subject it ap- 
pears, that in order to make science advance with accelerated steps, 
and to multiply the sources of mental enjoyment, w r e have only to 
set the machinery of the human mind (at present in a quiescent 
state) in motion, and to direct it movements to those objects which 
are congenial to its native dignity and its high destination. The 
capacity of the bulk of mankind for learning mechanical employ- 
ments and for contriving and executing plans of human destruc- 
tion, proves that they are competent to make all the researches 
requisite for the improvement of science. The same mental 
energies now exerted in mechanical labour, and in the arts of 
mischief, if properly directed, and acting in unison, and accom- 
panied with a spirit of perseverance, would accomplish many grand 
and beneficent effects, in relation both to the physical and moral 
world, and would amply compensate the occasional want of ex- 
traordinary degrees of mental vigour. Were only a hundred 
millions of eyes and of intellects (or the tenth part of the popula- 
tion of our globe) occasionally fixed on all the diversified aspects, 
motions, and relations of universal nature, it could not fail of be- 
ing followed by the most noble and interesting results, not only 
in relation to science, but to social and moral order, and to the 
general melioration of mankind. Were this supposition realized, 
our travellers, merchants and mariners, along with the produce 
of foreign lands, might regularly import, without the least injury 
to their commercial interests, interesting facts, both physical and 
moral, scientific observations, chemical experiments, and various 
oth(;r fragments of useful information for rearing the Temple of 
Science, and extending the boundaries of human knowledge. 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 81 



Intellectual Pleasures. 



SECTION IV. 

On the Pleasures and Enjoijments connected ivith the Pursuits of 

Science, 

Man is a compound being ; his nature consists of two essential 
parts, body and mind. Each of these parts of the human constitu- 
tion has its peculiar uses, and is susceptible of peculiar gratifica- 
tions. The body is furnished with external senses, which are both 
the sources of pleasure and the inlets of knowledge ; and the Crea- 
tor has furnished the universe with objects fitted for their exercise 
and gratification. While these pleasures are directed by the dictates 
of reason, and confined within the limits prescribed by the Divine 
law, they are so far from being unlawful, that in the enjoyment of 
them we fulfil one of the purposes for which our Creator brought 
us into existence. But the pursuit of sensitive pleasures is not 
the ultimate end of our being ; we enjoy such gratifications in 
common with the inferior animals ; and in so far as we rest in them 
as our chief good, we pour contempt on our intellectual nature, and 
degrade ourselves nearly to the level of the beasts that perish. 

Man is endowed with intellectual powers, as well as with organs 
of sensation, — with faculties of a higher order, and which admit 
of more varied and sublime gratifications than those which the 
senses can produce. By these faculties we are chiefly distin- 
guished from the lower orders of animated existence ; in the pro- 
per exercise and direction of them, we experience the highest and 
most refined enjoyments of which our nature is susceptible, and 
are gradually prepared for the employments of that immortal exis- 
tence to which we are destined. The corporeal senses were be- 
stowed chiefly in subserviency to the powers of intellect, and to 
supply materials for thought and contemplation ; and the pleasures 
peculiar to our intellectual nature, rise as high above mere sensitive 
enjoyments, as the rank of man stands in the scale of existence 
above that of the fowls of the air, or the beasts of the forest. Such 
pleasures are pure and refined ; they are congenial to the character 
of a rational being ; they are more permanent than mere sensitive 
enjoyments ; they can be enjoyed when worldly comforts are with- 
drawn, and when sensual gratifications can afford no delight ; they 
afford solace in the hours of retirement from the bustle o{ business, 
and consolation amid the calamities and afflictions to which hu- 
manity is exposed ; and the more we acquire a relish for such plea- 
sures, the better shall we be prepared for associating with intelli- 
gences of a higher order in the future world. 



82 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Description of an unenlightened Mind. 



Before proceeding to the more particular illustration of this 
topic, let us consider the state and the enjoyments of the man 
whose mind is shrouded in ignorance. He grows up to manhood 
like a vegetable, or like one of the lower animals that are fed and 
nourished for the slaughter. He exerts his physical powers 
because such exertion is necessary for his subsistence ; were it 
otherwise, we should most frequently find him dozing over the 
fire, or basking in the sun, with a gaze as dull and stupid as his ox, 
regardless of every thing but the gratification of his appetites. He 
has perhaps been taught the art of reading, but has never applied 
it to the acquisition of knowledge. His views are chiefly con- 
fined to the objects immediately around him, and to the daily 
avocations in which he is employed. His knowledge of society is 
circumscribed within the limits of his parish, and his views of 
the world in which he dwells are confined within the range of the 
country in which he resides, or of the blue hills which skirt 
his horizon. Of the aspect of the globe in other countries — 
of the various tribes with which they are peopled — of the seas 
and rivers, continents and islands which diversify the landscape 
of the earth — of the numerous orders of animated beings which 
people the ocean, the atmosphere, and the land, — of the revo- 
lutions of nations, and the events which have taken place in 
the history of the world, he has almost as little conception as the 
animals that range the forest, or bound through the lawns. In 
regard to the boundless regions that lie beyond him in the firma- 
ment, and the bodies that roll there in magnificent grandeur, he 
has the most confused and inaccurate ideas ; and he seldom troubles 
himself with inquiries in relation to such subjects. Whether the 
stars be great or small, whether they be near us or at a distance, 
or whether they move or stand still, is to him a matter of trivial 
importance. If the sun give him light by day, and the moon by 
night, and the clouds distil their watery treasures upon his parched 
fields, he is contented, and leaves all such inquiries and investiga- 
tions to those who have little else to engage their attention. He 
views the canopy of heaven as merely a ceiling to our earthly 
habitation, and the starry orbs as only so many luminous studs or ta- 
pers to diversify its aspect, and to afford a glimmering light to the 
benighted traveller. Of the discoveries which have been made in 
the physical sciences in ages past, of the wonders of creation which 
they have unfolded to view, of the instruments which have been 
invented for exploring the universe, and of the improvements 
which are now going forward in every department of science and 
art, and the prospects they are opening to our view, he is almost 
as entirely ignorant as if he had been fixed under the frozen pole, 



Pleasures connected with science. 83 



Description of an unenlightened Mind. 



or chained to the surface of a distant planet. He considers learn- 
ing as consisting chiefly in the knowledge of grammar, Greek, 
and Latin ; and philosophy and astronomy as the arts of telling 
fortunes and predicting the state of the weather ; and experimen- 
tal chemistry, as allied to the arts of magic and necromancy. He 
has no idea of the manner in which the understanding may be en- 
lightened and expanded, he has no relish for intellectual pursuits, 
and no conception of the pleasures they afford ; and he sets no 
value on knowledge but in so far as it may tend to increase his 
riches and his sensual gratifications. He has no desire for making 
improvements in his trade or domestic arrangements, and gives 
no countenance to those useful inventions and public improve- 
ments which are devised by others. He sets himself against 
every innovation, whether religious, political, mechanical, or agri- 
cultural, and is determined to abide by the " good old customs" 
of his forefathers, however irrational and absurd. Were it depen- 
dent upon him, the moral world would stand still, as the material 
world was supposed to do in former times ; all useful inventions 
and improvements would cease, existing evils would never be re- 
medied, ignorance and superstition would universally prevail, the 
human mind would be arrested in its progress to perfection, and 
man would never arrive at the true dignity of his intellectual nature. 
It is evident that such an individual (and the world contains 
thousands and millions of such characters) can never have his 
mind elevated to those sublime objects and contemplations which 
enrapture the man of science, nor feel those pure and exquisite 
pleasures which cultivated minds so frequently experience ; nor 
can he form those lofty and expansive ideas of the Deity which 
the grandeur and magnificence of his works are calculated to 
inspire. He is left as a prey to all those foolish notions and vain 
alarms which are engendered by ignorance and superstition ; and 
he swallows, without the least hesitation, all the absurdities and 
childish tales respecting witches, hobgoblins, spectres, and ap- 
paritions, which have been handed down to him by his forefa- 
thers in former generations. And while he thus gorges his mind 
with fooleries and absurdities, he spurns at the discoveries of 
science, as impositions on the credulity of mankind, and contrary 
to reason and common sense. That the sun is a million of times 
larger than the earth, that light flies from his body at the rate of 
two hundred thousand miles in a moment of time, and that the 
earth is whirling round its axis from day to day, with a velocity of 
a thousand miles every hour, are regarded by him as notions far 
more improbable and extravagant than the story of the M Won- 



84 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Description of an enlightened Mind. 



derful Lamp," and all the other tales of the "Arabian Nights' 
Entertainments." In his hours of leisure from his daily avoca- 
tions his thoughts either run wild among the most grovelling 
objects, or sink into sensuality or inanity, and solitude and retire- 
ment present no charms to his vacant mind. While human 
beino-s are thus immersed in ignorance, destitute of rational ideas, 
aad of a solid substratum of thought, they can never experience 
those pleasures and enjoyments which flow from the exercise of 
the understanding, and which correspond to the dignity of a ra- 
tional and immortal nature. • .... ,. . , ...., 

On the other hand, the man whose mind is irradiated with the 
lio-htof substantial science has views, and feelings, and exquisite 
eniovments to which the former is an entire stranger. In conse- 
nuence of the numerous and multifarious ideas he has acquired, 
he is introduced, as it were, into a new world, where he is enter- 
tained with scenes, objects, and movements, of which a mind 
enveloped in ignorance can form no conception. He can trace 
back the stream of time to its commencement; and, gliding along 
its downward course, can survey the most memorable events 
which have happened in every part of its progress from the 
primeval ages to the present day-the rise of empires, the fall of 
kinss the revolutions of nations, the battles of warriors, and the 
important events which have followed in their train-the progress 
of civilization, and of arts and sciences-the judgments which 
have been inflicted on wicked nations-the dawmngs of Divine 
mercv towards our fallen race— the manifestation of the Son of 
God in our nature— the physical changes and revolutions which 
have taken place in the constitution of our globe-m short, the 
whole of the leading events in the chain of Divine dispensation 
from the beginning of the world to the period in which we live 
With his mental eye he can survey the terraqueous globe in al 
its variety of aspects; contemplate the continents, islands, and 
oceans which compose its exterior, the numerous rivers by which 
it is indented, the lofty ranges of mountains which diversity its 
surface, its winding caverns, its forests, lakes, sandy deserts, ice 
islands, whirlpools, boiling springs, glaciers, sulphuric mountains 
bituminous lakes, and the states and empires into which it is dis 
tributed, the tides and currents of the ocean, the icebergs of th< 
nolar recions, and the verdant scenes of the torrid zone. He cai 
climb in imagination, to the summit of the flaming volcano, lis 
ten to its subterraneous bellowings, behold its lava bursting fror 
its mouth and rolling down its sides like a flaming nver-descen 
into the subterranean grotto— survey, from the top of the Andes 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 85 



Description of an enlightened Mind. 



the lio-htninsfs flashing and the thunders rolling far beneath him — 
stand on the brink of the dashing cataract and listen to its roar- 
ing S — contemplate the ocean rearing its billows in a storm, and 
the hurricane and tornado tearing up forests by their roots, and 
tossing them about as stubble. Sitting at his fireside, during the 
blasts o{ winter, he can survey the numerous tribes of mankind 
scattered over the various climates of the earth, and entertain 
himself with views of their manners, customs, religion, laws, trade, 
manufactures, marriage ceremonies, civil and ecclesiastical go- 
vernments, arts, sciences, cities, towns and villages, and the ani- 
mals peculiar to every region. In his rural walks he cannot only 
appreciate the beneficence of Nature, and the beauties and har- 
monies of the vegetable kingdom, in their exterior aspect, but can 
also penetrate into the hidden processes which are going on in the 
roots, trunks, and leaves of plants and flowers, and contemplate 
the numerous vessels through which the sap is flowing from their 
roots through the trunks and branches, the millions of pores 
through which their odoriferous effluvia exhale, their fine and 
delicate texture, their microscopical beauties, their orders, genera, 
and species, and their uses in the economy of nature. 

With the help of his microscope, he can enter into a world un- 
known to the ignorant, and altogether invisible to the unassisted 
eve. In every plant and flower which adorns the field, in every 
leaf of the forest, in the seeds, prickles, and down of all vegetables, 
he perceives beauties and harmonies, and exquisite contrivances, 
hich, without this instrument, he could have formed no concep- 
tion. In every scale of a haddock he perceives a beautiful piece 
of net-work, admirably contrived and arranged, and in the scale 
of a sole a still more diversified structure, which no art could imi- 
. terminated with pointed spikes, and formed with admirable 
laritv. Where nothing but a speck of mouldiness appears to 
naked eve. he beholds a forest of mushrooms with long stalks, 
with leaves and blossoms distinctly visible. In the eyes of 
a common fly, where others can see only two small protuberances, 
he perceives several thousands of beautiful transparent globes, 
uisitely rounded and polished, placed with the utmost regu- 
lantv in rows )i other like a kind of lattice-work, and 

forming the most admirable piece of mechanism which the eye can 
contemplate. The small dust that covers the wings of moths 
and butterflies he perceives to consist of an infinite multitude 
of feathers of various forms, not much unlike the feathers of 
birds, and adorned with the most bright and vivid colours. In an 
animal so small that the naked eye can scarcely distinguish it as 
a visible point, he perceives a head, mouth, eyes, legs, joints, bris- 
S 



86 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Description of and enlightened Mind. 



ties, hair, and other animal parts and functions, as nicely formed 
and adjusted, and endowed with as much vivacity, agility and intel- 
ligence, as the larger animals. In the tail of a small fish, or the 
foot of a frog, he can perceive the variegated branchings of the 
veins and arteries, and the blood circulating through them with 
amazing velocity. In a drop of stagnant water he perceives thou- 
sands of living beings, of various shapes and sizes, beautifully 
formed, and swimming with wanton vivacity like fishes in the 
midst of the ocean. In short, by this instrument he perceives that 
the whole earth is full of animation, and that there is not a single 
tree, plant, or flower, and scarcely a drop of water, that is not teem- 
ing with life, and peopled with its peculiar inhabitants. He thus 
enters, as it were, into a new world, invisible to other eyes, where 
every object in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, pre- 
sents a new and interesting aspect, and unfolds beauties, harmo- 
nies, contrasts, and exquisite contrivances, altogether inconceivable 
by the ignorant and unreflecting mind. 

In the invisible atmosphere which surrounds him, where other 
minds discern nothing but an immense blank, he beholds an as- 
semblage of wonders, and a striking scene of Divine Wisdom and 
Omnipotence. He views this invisible agent not only as a mate- 
rial but as a compound substance — compounded of two opposite 
principles, the one the source of flame and animal life, and the 
other destructive to both, and producing by their different combi- 
nations, the most diversified and beneficent effects. He perceives 
the atmosphere, as the agent under the Almighty, which produces 
the germination and growth of plants, and all the beauties of the 
vegetable creation — which preserves water in a liquid state — sup- 
ports fire and flame, and produces animal heat, which sustains the 
clouds, and gives buoyancy to the feathered tribes — which is the 
cause of winds — the vehicle of smells — the medium of sounds — 
the source of all the pleasures we derive from the harmonies of 
music — the cause of that universal light and splendour which is 
diffused around us, and of the advantages we derive from the morn- 
ing and evening twilight. In short, he contemplates it as the prime 
mover in a variety of machines, as impelling ships across the ocean, 
blowing our furnaces, grinding our corn, raising water from the 
deepest pits, extinguishing fires, setting power-looms in motion, 
propelling steamboats along rivers and canals, raising balloons to 
the region of the clouds, and performing a thousand other bene- 
ficent agencies without which our globe would cease to be a habi- 
table world. All which views and contemplations have an evident 
tendency to enlarge the capacity of the mind, to stimulate its facul- 
ties, and to produce rational enjoyment. 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. i 87 

Description of an enlightened Mind. 



Again, — the man of knowledge, even when shrouded in dark- 
ness, and in solitude, where other minds could find no enjoyment, 
can entertain himself with the most sublime contemplations. He 
can trace the huge globe on which we stand flying through the 
depths of space, carrying along with it its vast population, at the 
rate of sixty thousand miles every hour, and, by the inclination of 
its axis, bringing about the alternate succession of summer and 
winter, spring and harvest. By the aid of his telescope he can 
transport himself towards the moon, and survey the circular plains, 
the deep caverns, the conical hills, the lofty peaks, the shadows of 
the hills and vales, and the rugged and romantic mountain scenery 
which diversify the surface of this orb of night. By the help of 
the same instrument he can range through the planetary system, 
Ming his way through the regions of space along with the swiftest 
orbs, and trace many of the physical aspects and revolutions which 
have a relation to distant worlds. He can transport himself to the 
planet Saturn, and behold a stupendous ring, 600,000 miles in cir- 
cumference, revolving in majestic grandeur every ten hours around 
a globe nine hundred times larger than the earth, while seveu 
moons, larger than ours, along with an innumerable host of stars, 
display their radiance, to adorn the firmament of that magnifi- 
cent world. He can wing his flight to the still more distant regions 
of the universe, leaving the sun and all his planets behind him, till 
they appear like a scarcely discernible speck in creation, and con- 
template thousands and millions of stars and starry systems, beyond 
the range of the unassisted eye, and wander among suns and 
worlds dispersed throughout the boundless dimensions of space* 
He can fill up, in his imagination, those blanks which astronomy 
has never directly explored, and conceive thousands of systems 
and ten thousands of worlds, beyond all that is visible by the optic 
tube, stretching out to infinity on every hand, — new creations in- 
cessantly starting into existence — peopled with intelligences of 
various orders, and all under the superintendence and govern- 
ment of the "King Eternal, Immortal, and Invisible," whose 
power is omnipotent, and the limits of his dominions past finding 
out. 

It is evident that a mind capable of such excursions and con- 
templations as I have now supposed, must experience enjoyments 
infinitely superior to those of the individual whose soul is envelo- 
ped in intellectual darkness. If substantial happiness is chiefly 
seated in the mind, if it consists in the vigorous exercise of its 
faculties, if it depends on the multiplicity of objects which lie with- 
in the range of its contemplation, if it is augmented by the view 
of scenes of beauty and sublimity, and displays of infinite intelli- 



8S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Intellectual Gratifications. 



gence and power, if it is connected with tranquillity of mind, which 
generally accompanies intellectual pursuits, and with the subjuga- 
tion of the pleasures of sense to the dictates of reason — the en- 
lightened mind must enjoy gratifications as far superior to those 
of the ignorant, as man is superior in station and capacity to the 
worms of the dust. 

In order to illustrate this topic a little farther, I shall select a 
few facts and deductions in relation to science which demon- 
strate the interesting nature and delightful tendency of scientific 
pursuits. 

Every species of rational information has a tendency to produce 
pleasing emotions. There is a certain gratification in becoming 
acquainted with objects and operations of which we were formerly 
ignorant, and that, too, altogether independent of the practical 
tendency of such knowledge, of the advantages we may expect 
to reap from it, or the sensitive enjoyments with which it may be 
accompanied. A taste for knowledge, a capacity to acquire it, 
and a pleasure accompanying its acquisition, form a part of the 
constitution of every mind. The Creator has implanted in the 
human mind a principle of curiosity, and annexed a pleasure to its 
gratification to excite us to investigations of the wonders of crea- 
tion he has presented before us, to lead us to just conceptions of his 
infinite perfections, and of the relation in which we stand to him as 
the subjects of his government. We all know with what a lively 
interest most persons peruse novels and romances, where hair- 
breadth escapes, mysterious incidents, and tales of wonder, are 
depicted with all the force and beauty of language. But the scenes 
detailed in such writings produce only a momentary enjoyment. 
Being retraced as only the fictions of a lively imagination, they pass 
away like a dream or a vision of the night, leaving the understanding 
bewildered and destitute of any solid improvement. In order to 
improve the intellectual faculties while we gratify the principle of 
curiosity, it is only requisite that we direct the attention to facts 
instead of fictions ; and when the real scenes of the universe are 
presented in an interesting aspect, they are calculated to produce 
emotions of wonder and delight even superior to those excited by 
the most highly-wrought tales of fiction and romance. The fol- 
lowing facts and considerations will perhaps tend to corroborate 
this position. 

In the first place, the number of effects produced by a single 
principle in nature is calculated to excite emotions of admiration 
and delight. From the simple principle of gravitation, for in- 
stance, proceed all the beauties and sublimities which arise from 
the meandering rills, the majestic rivers, and the roaring cataracts 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 89 



Wonders of Nature. 



— it causes the mountains to rest on a solid basis, and confines 
the ocean to its appointed channels — retains the inhabitants of 
the earth to its surface, and prevents them from flying off in wild 
confusion through the voids of space — it produces the descent of the 
rains and dews, and the alternate flux and reflux of the tides — re- 
gulates the various movements of all animals — forms mechanical 
powers — gives impulsion to numerous machines — rolls the moor 
round the earth, and prevents her from flying off to the distant re- 
gions of space — extends its influence from the moon to the earth, 
from the earth to the moon, and from the sun to the remotest planets 
preserving surrounding worlds in their proper courses, and connect- 
ing the solar system with other worlds and systems in the remote 
spaces of the universe. When a stick of sealing wax is rubbec 
with a piece of flannel, it attracts feathers or small bits of paper ; 
when a long tube of glass, or a cat's back, is rubbed in the dark, 
it emits flashes of fire, accompanied with a snapping noise. Now, 
is it not delightful to a rational mind to know, that the same prin- 
ciple which causes wax or amber to attract light substances, and 
glass tubes or cylinders to emit sparks of fire, produces the light- 
nings of heaven, and all the sublime phenomena which accompany 
a violent thunder-storm, and, in combination with other agents, 
produces also the fiery meteor which sweeps through the sky with 
its luminous train, and the beautiful coruscations of the aurora 
borealis 1 There are more than fifty thousand different species 
of plants in the vegetable kingdom, all differing from one ano- 
ther in their size, structure, flowers, leaves, fruits, mode of propa- 
gation, internal vessels, medicinal virtues, and the odours they 
exhale. Who would imagine that this immense assemblage of 
vegetable production which adorns the surface of the earth in 
every clime, with such a diversity of forms, fruits, and colours, 
are the result of the combination of four or five simple substances 
variously modified by the hand of the Creator ] Yet it is an un- 
doubted fact, ascertained from chemical analysis, that all vege- 
table substances, from the invisible mushroom which adheres to a 
spot of mouldiness, to the cedar of Lebanon and the banian-tree, 
which would cover with its shade an army of ten thousand men, 
— are solely composed of the following natural principles — caloric, 
light, water, air, and carbon. 

Again, is it not wonderful that the invisible atmosphere should 
compress our bodies every moment with a weight of more than 
30,000 pounds without our feeling it, and the whole earth with a 
weight of 12,043,468,800,000,000,000 pounds, or five thousand 
billions of tons ; that this pressure is essentially necessary to our 
existence, and that a small quantity of air within us, which would 
8* 



90 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Wonders of Nature. 



not weigh above a single ounce, by its strong elastic force coun- 
teracts the effects of this tremendous pressure upon our bodies, 
and prevents our being crushed to pieces — that the same cause 
prevents our habitations from falling upon us and crushing us to 
death, without which our glass windows would be shattered to 
atoms, and our most stately edifices tumbled into ruins ! — that this 
atmosphere is at the same time performing an immense variety 
of operations in nature and art — insinuating itself into the pores 
and sap-vessels of plants and flowers — producing respiration in 
all living beings, and supporting all the processes of life and vege- 
tation throughout the animal and vegetable creation — that its pres- 
sure produces the process of what is called suction and cupping 
— causes snails and periwinkles to adhere to the rocks on which 
they are found — gives effect to the adhesion of bodies by means 
of morter and cements — raises water in our forcing-pumps and 
fire-engines — supports the quicksilver in our barometers — pre- 
vents the water of our seas and rivers from boiling and evapo- 
rating into steam — and promotes the action of our steam-engines 
while raising water from deep pits, and while propelling vessels 
along seas and rivers ! 

In the next place, science contributes to the gratification of 
the human mind by enabling us to trace, in many objects and ope- 
rations, surprising resemblances, where ive should least of all have 
expected them. Who could, at first sight, imagine, that the process 
of breathing is a species of combustion, or burning — that the dia- 
mond is nothing else than carbon in a crystallized state, and differs 
only in a very slight degree from a piece of charcoal — that water 
is a compound of two invisible airs or gases, and that one of these 
ingredients is the principle of flame ! — mat the air which produces 
suffocation and death in coal-mines and subterraneous grottos, 
is the same substance which gives briskness to ale, beer, and soda 
water, and the acid flavour to many mineral springs — that the air 
we breathe is composed of the same ingredients, and nearly in the 
same proportions, as nitric acid or aquafortis, which can dissolve 
almost all the metals, and a single draught of which would in- 
stantly destroy the human frame — that the colour of white is a 
mixture or compound of all the other colours, red, orange, yelloio^ 
green,blue, indigo, and violet, and consequently, that the white light 
of the sun produces all that diversity of colouring which adorns 
the face of nature — that the same principle which causes our fires 
to burn, forms acids, produces the rust of metals, and promotes the 
growth of plants by night — that plants breathe and perspire as well 
as animals — that carbonic acid gas, or fixed air, is the product 
both of vegetation, of burning, of fermentation, and of breathing, 



' PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 91 



Operations of Nature to be investigated. 



— that it remains indestructible by age, and, in all its diversified 
combinations, still preserves its identity — that the air which burns 
in our street-lamps and illuminates our shops and manufactories, 
is the same which causes a balloon to rise above the clouds, and 
likewise extinguishes flame when it is immersed in a body of this 
gas — that the leaves of vegetables which rot upon the ground, 
and appear to be lost for ever, are converted by the oxygen of the 
atmosphere into carbonic acid gas, and this very same carbon is, 
in process of time, absorbed by a new race of vegetables, which 
it clothes with a new foliage, and again renews the face of nature 
— and that the same principle which causes the sensation of heat 
is the cause of fluidity, expands bodies in every direction, enters 
into every operation in nature, flies from the sun at the rate of 
195,000 miles in a second of time, and, by its powerful influence, 
prevents the whole matter of the universe from being converted 
into a solid mass ! 

What, then, can be more delightful to a being furnished with 
such powers as man, than to trace the secret machinery by which 
the God of nature accomplishes his designs in the visible world, 
and displays his infinite power and intelligence — to enter into the 
hidden springs of Nature's operations, to follow her through all her 
winding recesses, and to perceive from what simple principles 
and causes the most sublime and diversified phenomena are pro- 
duced ! It is with this view that the Almighty hath set before us 
his wondrous works, not to be overlooked, or beheld with a " brute 
unconscious gaze," but to be investigated, in order that they may 
be admired, and that in such investigations we may enjoy a sa- 
cred pleasure in contemplating the results of his wisdom and in- 
telligence. 

in the third place, science contributes to our enjoyment by the 
srand and sublime objects she presents before us. In consequence 
of the investigations which have been made to determine the dis- 
tances and magnitudes of the heavenly bodies, objects of mag- 
nificence and grandeur are now presented to the view of the 
enlightened mind of which former ages could form no conception. 
These objects are magnificent in respect of magnitude, of motion, 
of the vast spaces which intervene between them, and of the noble 
purposes for which they are destined. 

"What a sublime idea, for example, is presented to the view by 
such an object as the planet Jupiter, — a globe fourteen hundred 
times larger than the world in which we dwell, and whose surface 
would contain a population a hundred times more numerous than 
all the inhabitants that have existed on our globe since the crea- 
tion ! And how is the sublimity of such an idea augmented wher* 



92 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Motions of the Planets. 



we consider, that this immense body is revolving round its axis 
at the rate of twenty-eight thousand miles in an hour, and is flying, 
at the same time, through the regions of space, twenty-nine thou- 
sand miles every hour, carrying along with it four moons, each of 
them larger than the earth, during its whole course round the 
centre of its motion ! And if this planet, which appears only like 
a luminous speck on the nocturnal sky, presents such an august 
idea, when its magnitude and motions are investigated, what an 
astonishing idea is presented to the mind when it contemplates the 
size and splendour of the sun — a body which would contain with- 
in its bowels nine hundred globes larger than Jupiter, and thirteen 
hundred thousand globes of the bulk of the earth, — which darts its 
rays in a few moments to the remotest bounds of the planetary sys- 
tem, producing light and colour, and life and vegetation through- 
out surrounding worlds ! And how must our astonishment be still 
increased, when we consider the number of such globes which 
exist throughout the universe ; that within the range of our teles- 
copes more than eighty millions of globes, similar to the sun in 
size and in splendour, are arranged at immeasurable distances 
from each other, diffusing their radiance through the immensity 
of space, and enlivening surrounding worlds with their benign 
influence, besides the innumerable multitudes which, our reason 
tells us, must exist beyond all that is visible to the eyes of 
mortals. 

But the motions, no less than the magnitudes, of such bodies pre- 
sent ideas of sublimity. That a globe* as large as the earth 
should fly through the celestial regions with a velocity of seventy- 
six thousand miles an hour, — that another globef should move at 
the rate of one thousand seven hundred and fifty miles in a mi- 
nute, and a hundred and five thousand miles an hour, — that even 
Saturn, with all his assemblage of rings and moons, should be car- 
ried along his course with a velocity of twenty-two thousand miles 
an hour, — that some of the comets, when near the sun, should fly 
with the amazing velocity of eight hundred thousand miles an 
hour, — that, in all probability, the sun himself, with all his attend- 
ing planets, besides their own proper motions, are carried around 
some distant centre at the rate of more than sixty thousand miles 
every hour ; and that thousands and millions of systems are mov- 
ing in the same rapid manner, are facts so astonishing, and so far 
exceeding every thing we behold around us on the surface of the 
earth, that the imagination is overpowered and confounded at the 
idea of the astonishing forces which are in operation throughout 

* The planet Venus. f The planet Mercury. 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 93 



Immensity of Space. 



the universe, and of the power and energy by which they are pro- 
duced ; and every rational being feels a sublime pleasure in the 
contemplation of such objects which is altogether unknown to the 
ignorant mind. 

The vast and immeasurable spaces which intervene between the 
great bodies of the universe likewise convey august and sublime 
conceptions. Between the earth and the sun there intervenes a 
space so vast, that a cannon-ball, flying with the velocity of five 
hundred miles an hour, would not reach that luminary in twenty 
years ; and a mail-coach, moving at its utmost speed, would not 
arrive at its surface in less than twelve hundred years ; and, were 
it to proceed from the sun towards the planet Herschel, it would 
not arrive at that body after the lapse of hventy-tivo thousand 
years. And yet the sun, at that immense distance, exerts his at- 
tractive energy, retains that huge planet in its orbit, and dispenses 
light and colour, life and animation, over every part of its surface. 
But all such spaces,, vast as at first sight they appear, dwindle as 
it were into a span, when compared with those immeasurable 
spaces which are interposed between us and the regions of the 
stars. Between the earth and the nearest fixed star a space inter- 
venes so vast and incomprehensible, that a ball flying with the 
velocity above mentioned, would not pass through it in four mil- 
lions and five hundred thousand years ; and as there are stars, visi- 
ble through telescopes, at least a hundred times farther distant from 
our globe, it w r ould require such' a body four hundred millions 
of years, or a period 67,000 times greater than that which has 
elapsed since the Mosaic creation, before it could arrive at those 
distant regions of immensity. 

The grand and noble designs for which the great bodies to which 
I have adverted are intended, suggest likewise a variety of inter- 
esting and sublime reflections. These designs undoubtly are, to 
display the ineffable glories of the Eternal Mind, — to demonstrate 
the immensity, omnipotence, and wisdom of Him who formed the 
universe, — and to serve as so many worlds for the residence of in- 
calculable numbers of intelligent beings of every order. And what 
an immense variety of interesting objects is presented to the mind 
when its views are directed to the numerous orders and gradations 
of intelligences that may people the universe, — the magnificent 
scenes that may be displayed in every world, — their moral eco- 
nomy, and the important transactions that may have taken place 
in their history under the arrangements of the Divine government ! 

Such are some of the scenes of grandeur which science unfolds 
to every enlightened mind. The contemplation of such objects has 
an evident tendency to enlarge the capacity of the soul, to raise 



94 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Science of Mechanics. 



the affections above mean and grovelling pursuits, to give man a 
more impressive idea of the dignity of his rational and immortal 
nature, and of the attributes of that Almighty Being by whom he is 
upheld, and to make him rejoice in the possession of faculties capa- 
ble of being exercised on scenes and objects so magnificent and 
sublime. 

In the fourth place, science administers to our enjoyment by the 
variety of novel and interesting objects it exhibits. Almostevery 
department of natural science presents to the untutored mind an 
assemblage of objects, new and strange, which tend to rouse its 
faculties, and to excite to important inquiries and interesting re- 
flections. The science of mechanics presents us with many 
curious combinations of mechanical powers, which, from the sim- 
plest principles, produce the most powerful and astonishing effects. 
" What can be more strange," says a profound and energetic 
writer,* " than that an ounce weight should balance hundreds of 
pounds by the intervention of a few bars of thin iron V J And 
when we consider that all the mechanical powers may be reduced 
to the lever, the wheel and axle, the pully, the inclined plane, the 
wedge, and the screw, how astonishing are the forces exerted, and 
the effects produced, by their various combinations in wheel-car- 
riages, mills, cranes, thrashing-machines, and pile-engines ! Hy- 
drostatics teaches us the wonderful fact, that a few pounds of water, 
without the aid of any machinery, will, by mere pressure, produce 
an almost irresistible force ; or, in other words, that any quantity 
of fluid, however small, may be made to counterpoise any quantity, 
however large ; and hence a very strong hogshead has been burst 
to pieces, and the water scattered about with incredible force, by 
means of water conveyed through a very small perpendicular tube 
of great length. On the same principle, and by the same means, 
the foundations of a large building might be shattered and the 
whole structure overthrown. Magnetism discloses to us such 
singular facts as the following : — that a small piece of steel, when 
rubbed by the loadstone, and nicely poised, will place itself in a 
direction nearly north and south, so as to point nearly towards 
the poles of the world, — that the north and south poles of two 
loadstones will attract, and two north or two south poles repel 
each other ; and that the power of a magnet will pass through a 
thick board, and turn round a compass needle with great velocity, 
though placed at a considerable distance. 

The science of optics likewise discloses a variety of astonishing 
tnths, and is no less replete with wonders. How wonderful the 



Lord Brougham. 






PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 95 



Science of Optics. 



fact, that light proceeds from the sun, and other luminous bodies, 
with a velocity of 195,000 miles in a moment of time ; that my- 
riads of myriads of rays are flying off from visible objects towards 
every point of the compass, crossing each other in all directions, 
and yet accurately depicting the same images of external objects 
in thousands of eyes at the same moment, — that the thousands of 
millions of rays of light which proceed from any particular object 
must be compressed into a space not more than one-eighth of an 
inch in diameter, before they can enter the pupil of the eye and 
produce vision, — that the images of all the objects which compose 
an extensive landscape are depicted on the bottom of the eye, in 
all their colours and relative proportions, within a space less than 
half an inch in diameter, — that the eye can perceive objects dis- 
tinctly at the distance of six inches, and likewise at the distance 
of ten, fifty, or a hundred miles, serving the purpose both of a 
microscope and a telescope, and can be instantaneously adjusted 
to serve either as the one or as the other, — and that the variegated 
colouring which appears in the scenery of nature is not in the 
objects themselves, but in the light which falls upon them, without 
which all the scenes of creation would wear a uniform aspect, 
and one object would be undistinguishable from another ! 

The instruments which the science of optics has been the means 
of constructing are also admirable in their effects, and productive 
of rational entertainment. How wonderful, that, by means of an 
optic lens, an image is depicted in a dark chamber, on an white 
table, in which we may perceive the objects of an extensive land- 
scape delineated in all their colours, motions, and proportions, 
and so accurately represented, that we even distinguish the 
countenances of individuals at the distance of a mile, — that we can 
see objects distinctly when a thick board, or a piece of metal, is 
interposed between them and our eye, — that the images of objects 
can be made to hang in the air either upright or inverted, and that 
representations either of the living or of the dead can be made to 
start up instantly before the view of a spectator in a darkened 
room, — that, by admitting into a chamber a few rays of white 
light from the sun through a prism, all the colours of light may be 
seen beautifully painted on a piece of paper, — that a single object 
may be multiplied to an indefinite number, and that a few coloured 
bits of glass may be made by reflection to exhibit an infinite di- 
versity of beautiful and variegated forms! How admirable the 
effects of the telescope, by which we may see objects as distinctly 
at the distance of two or three miles as if they were placed within 
a few yards of us ; by which we can penetrate into the celestial 
regions, and behold the distant wonders of the planetary system, 



96 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Aerial Reflecting Telescope. 



and the millions of stars dispersed through infinite space, as distinctly 
as if we were actually transported by a supernatural power several 
hundreds of millions of miles into the regions of the firmament ! 
And how curious the circumstance, that we can, by this instrument, 
contemplate such objects in all directions and positions, — that we 
can view them either as erect, or as turned upside down, — that 
we can perceive the spires, houses, and windows of a distant city, 
when our backs are turned directly opposite to it, and our faces in 
a contrary direction — the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter, 
when we are looking downwards with our backs turned to these 
objects, — that we can make an object on our right-hand or our 
left appear as if directly before us, and can cause a terrestrial 
landscape to appear above us, as if it were suspended in the sky.* 
By the help of the microscope we can exhibit to a number of spec- 
tators at the same moment a small animal scarcely distinguishable 

* This is effected by means of the " aerial reflecting telescope," lately in- 
vented by the author. The following is a general representation of this teles- 
cope in profile : — 




AB is a tube of mahogany about three inches long, which serves as a socketl 
for holding the speculum ; CD an arm attached to the tube, about the length) 
of the focal distance of the mirror, consisting of two separate pieces C and D, 
the latter of which slides under the former, through the brass sockets EF 
To the under part of the socket F is attached a brass nut with a female screw, 
in which the male screw ab acts by applying the hand to the knob c, whicl 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 97 

Electricity and Galvanism. 



by the naked eye, magnified to the size of ten or fifteen inches in 
ength, and distinguish, not only its limbs, joints, mouth, and eyes, 
but even the motions of its bowels, and other internal movements ; 
and in every department of nature can contemplate an assemblage 
of beauties, delicate contextures, and exquisite contrivances, 
which excite the highest admiration, and which would otherwise 
have appeared incredible and incomprehensible to the human 
mind. 

The sciences of electricity and galvanism likewise display facts 
Doth curious and astonishing. How wonderful the operations of 
the electric fluid, which can suddenly contract the muscles of 
animals, and give a violent shock to a hundred or a thousand per- 
sons at the same moment — which moves with such amazing rapi- 
ditv, that in a few seconds of time, it might be made to fly to the 
remotest regions of the globe — which melts iron wire, sets fire to 
gunpowder and other inflammable substances, destroys the polarity 
of the magnetic needle, and promotes the vegetation of plants 
and the perspiration of animals — which can be drawn in vivid 
sparks from different parts of the human body, and made to de- 
scend from the clouds in streams of fire ! And how powerful 
and astonishing the effects of the galvanic agency — which makes 
charcoal burn with a brilliant white flame, decomposes water into 
its elementary parts, and causes platina, the hardest and heaviest 
of the metals, to melt as readily as wax in the flame of a candle — 
which produces the most violent convulsions on the muscular sys- 
tem, causes a hare to move its feet, and a fowl to clap its wings, 
with force and energy after life is extinct — -throws the countenance, 
even of a dead man, into appalling grimaces and contortions, and 
excites the most rapid movements in his hands and limbs, to the 
hoiTor and astonishment of all beholders ! 

The science of chemistry, throughout all its departments, is no 
less replete with wonders. How astonishing are many of the facts 
which it discloses, of which the following are merely specimens ! 
— That all the productions of nature in the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms, are composed of a very few simple substances, many 

serves far adjusting the instrument to distinct vision. G is the brass tube 
which receives the eye-pieces. In looking through this telescope, i he riuht eye 
is applied at the point H, the back is directly towards the object, and the ob- 
server's head is understood to be uncovered. When a diagonal eye-piece is 
>jd, the object may be ^een either to the right or to the left, or at right angles 
to its true position ; or it may be made to appear either upwards, as if hanging 
in the air, or downwards, as if below the surface of the earth. A particu- 
lar description of this instrument may be seen in " The Edinburgh New 
Philosophical Journal," for July, 1826, p. 41-52, and in the " London Ency- 
clopaedia." Art. Telescope. 
9 



9S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Chemistry. 



of which are invisible gases — that water is chiefly composed of an 
inflammable principle — that the acids, such as aquafortis and oil 
of vitriol, are formed of different kinds of air — that an invisible 
fluid, one of the ingredients of the air we breathe, will cause a rod 
of iron to burn with brilliancy, and phosphorus to produce a splen- 
dour which dazzles the eyes of every beholder — that the diamond, 
notwithstanding its value and brilliancy, is composed of the same 
materials as coal — that oxy muriatic acid, or the bleaching gas, 
discharges all vegetable colours, and, in the course of a few mi- 
nutes, will change a piece of printed calico into a pure ivhite ; and 
likewise burns all the metals, dissolves gold and platina, and suf- 
focates ail animals that breathe it, after one or two inspirations — 
that there are metals much lighter than water, which swim in that 
fluid and burn spontaneously with a bright, red light, and when 
thrown into the mineral acids, inflame and burn on the surface, and 
in oxygen and oxymuriatic acid gas, produce a white flame, and 
throw out numerous bright sparks and scintillations, — that a cer- 
kind of air, called the nitrous oxide, when inhaled into the lungs, 
produces an extraordinary elevation of the animal spirits, an irre- 
sistible propensity to laughter, a rapid flow of vivid ideas, and a 
thousand delightful emotions, without any subsequent feelings of 
debility or exhaustion — and that it is not altogether improbable, 
according to the deductions of some modern chemists, that "oxy- 
gen and hydrogen, with the assistance of the solar light, are the 
only elementary substances employed in the constitution of the 
whole universe ;" so that Nature, in all her operations, works the 
most infinitely diversified effects, by the slightest modifications in 
the means she employs. 

Such are only a few specimens of the curious and interesting 
subjects which the physical sciences present to the reflecting 
mind. And is it conceivable that a rational being can make such 
objects as those I have now specified the subject of his frequent 
study and contemplation, and not feel pleasures and enjoyments 
far superior to those of the mass of mankind, who are either im- 
mersed in sensuality, or enveloped with the mists of ignorance? 
The man who has such subjects to study and investigate, and such 
objects to contemplate, can never be destitute of enjoyment. If 
happiness depends on the activity of the mind, and the range of 
objects presented before it, — wherever he is placed, whether at 
home or abroad, in the city or in the country, he can never be at a 
loss for means of mental gratification, and of increasing his stock 
of intellectual wealth. He needs not envy the rich and the noble 5 
on account of the elegance of their mansions and the sp 1 r 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE, 



99 



Geometrical Proposition demonstrated. 



their equipage ; for the magnificence and glories of the universe, 
and all the beauties of terrestrial nature, lie before him, and are at 
all times ready to minister to his enjoyment. In investigating the 
admirable arrangements which appear in the economy of creation, 
in tracing throughout that economy the perfections of his Creator, 
and in looking forward to a nobler state of existence where his 
views of the divine empire shall be expanded, he can enjoy a satis- 
faction and delight which the wealth of this world cannot bestow, 
and which its frowns and calamities cannot destroy. 

Besides the pleasures derived from a contemplation of the doc- 
trines and the facts of science, — there is a positive gratification in 
tracing the steps by which the discoveries of science have been 
made, — the reasonings and demonstrations by which its doctrines 
are supported, and the experiments by luhich they arc proved and 
illustrated. In this point of view, the study of several branches 
of mathematical science, however abstruse they may at first sight 
appear, will afford a high degree of gratification to the mind. 
TVhen it is announced as a proposition in geometry, " that the 
square described on the hypothenuse, or longest side of a right- 
angled triangle, is equal to the sum of the squares described on 
the other sides,"* — it is pleasing to perceive how every step of the 
demonstration proceeds with unerring certainty, and leads the 
mind to perceive the truth of the conclusion to which it leads, with 

* The following figure will convey an idea to the unlearned reader of the 
meaning of this proposition. 






\ 




B, 

i 
■ 
i 




| 


1 

: 

i 

! 


F 


1 
1 

1 
( 

J 


i 
* 




— i 



ABC is a right-angled triangle, having the right angle at C, and AB is the 
hypothenuse, or longest side. By geometrical reasoning it can be demon- 
strated, that the square D, described on the longest side AB, is exactly 
g isum of the squares E and F, described on the other two sides.— 



100 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Utility of Geometry. 

as high a degree of demonstrative evidence as that 3 added to 6 
make 9, or that 5 multiplied by 4 make 20. In like manner, 
when it is clearly demonstrated by mathematical reasoning, that 
M the three angles of every triangle, whatever be its size or the 
inclination of its sides, are exactly equal to two right angles, or 
ISO degrees," and that "the sides of a plane triangle are to one 
another as the sines of the angles opposite to them," the utility 
and importance of these truths may not at first view be apprecia- 
ted, however convincing the evidence from which the conclusions 
are deduced. But when the student comes to know that on these 
demonstrated properties of a triangle depends the mode of mea- 
suring the height of mountains, and the breadth of rivers, — of de- 
termining the circumference of the earth, the distance of the sun 
and moon, the magnitudes of the planets, and the dimensions of 
the solar system, — it cannot but afford a positive gratification 
to perceive the important bearings of such truths, and that the 
astronomer, when he announces his sublime deductions respect- 
ing the sizes and distances of the heavenly bodies, does not rest 
on vague conceptions, but on observations conducted with the 
nicest accuracy, and on calculations founded on principles sus- 
ceptible of the strictest demonstration. 

" To follow a demonstration of a grand mathematical truth," 
says a powerful and enlightened writer, — " to perceive how clearly 
and how inevitably one step succeeds another, and how the 
whole steps lead to the conclusion, — to observe how certainly and 
unerringly the reasoning goes on from things perfectly self-evident, 
and by the smallest addition at each step, every one being as easily 
taken after the one before as the first step of all was, and yet 
the result being something, not only far from self-evident, but so 
general and strange, that you can hardly believe it to be true, and 
r.re only convinced of it by going over the whole reasoning, — this 
c peration of the understanding, to those who so exercise them- 
I elves, always affords the highest delight." 

It is likewise a source of enjoyment to contemplate the experi- 
ments by which the doctrines of science are supported, and the 
reasonings and deductions founded on experimental investiga- 

C ne of the uses of this proposition will appear from the following example. 
► c uppose AC the height of a wall = 24 feet, BC the width of a trench = 18 feet; 
it is required to find the length of a ladder BA which will reach from the out- 
ride of the trench to the top of the wall. The square of 18 is 324, the square 
ff24is576, which added together make 900, equal to the square D ; the 
square root of which is 30 = the length of the ladder. On this principle we 
can find the height of the mountains in the moon, when the length of their 
shadows is known. 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 101 

Scientific Experiments. 



tions. When a person is told that the atmosphere presses on 
every part of the surface of the earth with a force equal to two 
thousand one hundred and sixty pounds on every square foot, it 
must surely be gratifying to behold a column of water supported 
in a glass tube, open at the lower end, — and a square bottle con- 
nected with an air-pump broken to pieces by the direct pressure of 
the atmosphere, — and from a comparison of the weight of 
mercury suspended in a tube with the diameter of its bore, to be 
able to calculate the atmospherical pressure on the body of a man, 
or even on the whole earth. When he is told that one ingre- 
dient of atmospheric air is the principle of flame, is it not curious 
and highly interesting to behold a piece of iron burning in this 
gas, throwing out brilliant sparks of white flame, and illuminating 
a large hall with a dazzling lustre ? — and when he is informed 
that fixed air is the heaviest of the gases, and destructive to flame 
and animal life, — is it not gratifying to perceive this invisible 
fluid poured from one vessel to another, and when poured 
on the flame of a candle that it instantly extinguishes it? Many 
of the deductions of natural science are so wonderful, and so 
unlike every thing we should have previously conceived, that 
to the untutored mind they appear almost incredible, and little 
short of unfounded and extravagant assertions. When such a 
one is told that " any quantity of liquid, however small, will coun- 
terpoise any quantity, however great," — that the rubbing of a glass 
cylinder against a cushion will produce the effect of setting fire to 
spirits of wine, or of bursting a bladder of air at the distance of a 
hundred feet from the machine — that the galvanic agency will 
produce a violent and uncommon effect upon the nervous and mus- 
cular system — and that in certain vegetable infusions, myriads of 
animals, of various forms, may be seen a thousand times less than 
the smallest visible point — such assertions are apt to stagger his 
belief as improbable and extravagant. But when he actually 
sees, in the first case, a large hogshead that would hold above a 
hundred gallons, filled with water, and a long tube whose bore is 
not half an inch in diameter, firmly inserted into its top, and a 
small quantity of water, scarcely exceeding a quart, poured into the 
tube — and then beholds the top rapidly swelling, and in a few mo- 
ments the whole cask burstto pieces and the water scattered in every 
direction, — or, in the second case, when he sees alcohol sudden- 
ly taking fire, and a bladder filled with oxygen and hydrogen gas 
exploding with a tremendous report, merely by the turning of the 
electrical machine at the other end of a long hall, and the inter- 
position of a wire, — or when, in the third case, he sees a person 
drink a glass of porter which has a wire around it connected with 
9* 



102 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Scientific Experiments. 



a galvanic battery, and at a certain stage of the operation receive 
a tremendous concussion, which makes him start and roar like a 
madman, — or, in the last case, when he looks through a powerful 
microscope, and perceives hundreds of mites like so many young 
pigs, clambering among rocks of cheese, and thousands of fishes 
in a drop of water — such experimental illustrations of the truths 
of science cannot fail to prove highly satisfactory, and to afford 
no inconsiderable degree of entertainment and delight. 

Tht occasional 'performance of scientific experiments, as oppor- 
tunity offers, and the construction of philosophical instruments, 
may also be converted into a source of enjoyment. In the one 
case, the student of nature may derive gratification, in being the 
means of communicating entertainment and instruction toothers ; 
and in the other, he may whet his ingenuity, and increase his 
mental vigour, and be enabled, at a small expense, to gratify his 
curiosity in contemplating the various processes, and the beau- 
ties and sublimities of nature. Many of the instruments of sci- 
ence, when elegantly constructed, are beyond the reach of the 
general mass of mankind, on account of their expense ; but a 
person of moderate reflection and ingenuity, during his leisure 
hours, can easily construct, at an inconsiderable expense, many 
of the most useful instruments which illustrate the facts of science. 
For example, a powerful compound microscope, capable of ena- 
bling us to perceive the most interesting minute objects in the 
animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, may be constructed at 
an expense of little more than a crown, provided the individual 
constructs the tubes and other apparatus of pasteboard, wood, or 
other cheap materials ; and the occasional exercise of the mental 
powers in such devices, so far from being irksome or fatiguing, is 
generally accompanied with satisfaction and pleasure. 

It is true, indeed, that the study of some of the subjects above 
mentioned, particularly the first principles of the mathematics, 
may, in the outset, be attended with some difficulties, and to some 
minds may wear a dry and uninteresting aspect. But as the 
mind proceeds onward in its progress, and acquires clearer con- 
ceptions of what at first appeared difficult or obscure — every diffi- 
culty it is enabled to surmount gives anew relish to the subject of 
investigation, and additional vigour to the intellect, to enable it to 
vanquish the difficulties which still remain, — till at length it feels 
a pleasure and an interest in the pursuit, which no difficulties, nor 
even the lapse of time, can ever effectually destroy. " Let any 
man," says Lord Broughman, " pass an evening in vacant idle- 
ness, or even in reading some silly tale, and compare the state of 
his mind when he goes to sleep or gets up next morning with 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 103 



Influence of Science on the Heart. 



its state some other day when he has passed a few hours in going 
through the proofs, by facts and reasonings, of some of the great 
doctrines in Natural Science, learning truths wholly new to him, 
and satisfying himself by careful examination of the grounds on 
which known truths rest, so as to be not only acquainted with the 
doctrines themselves, but able to show why he believes them, and 
to prove before others that they are true : he will find as great a 
difference as can exist in the same being, — the difference between 
looking back upon time unprofitably wasted, and time spent in 
self-improvement; he will feel himself in the one case listless and 
dissatisfied, in the other comfortable and happy ; in the one case, 
if he do not appear to himself humbled, at least he will not have 
earned any claim to his own respect; in the other case, he will 
enjoy a proud consciousness of having by his own exertions be- 
come a wiser, and therefore a more exalted, creature." 

The subjects to which I have now adverted may be considered, 
not merely in reference to the gratification they afford to the un- 
derstanding, but likewise in reference to the beneficial influence 
they would produce on the heart, and on social and domestic en- 
joyment. 

All the truths relative to the Creator's operations in the uni- 
verse, when properly contemplated, are calculated to produce a 
powerful and interesting impression upon the affections. Is a 
person gratified at beholding symmetry and beauty as displayed 
in the works of art, — what a high degree of delightful emotion 
must be felt in surveying the beautiful arrangements of Infinite 
Wisdom, in the variety of forms, the nice proportions, the exqui- 
site delicacy of texture, and the diversified hues which adorn the 
vegetable kingdom, — in the colours of the morning and evening 
clouds of a summer sky, the plumage of birds, the admirable 
workmanship on the bodies of insects, the fine polish of sea-shells, 
the variegated wavings and colouring of jaspers, topazes, and 
emeralds, and particularly in those specimens of Divine mechan- 
in insects, plants, and flowers, which the unassisted eye can- 
not discern, and which the microscope alone can unfold to view ! 
Has he a taste for the sublime ? How nobly is he gratified by an 
enlightened view of the nocturnal heavens, where suns unnum- 
bered shine, and mighty worlds run their solemn rounds ! Such 
contemplations have a natural tendency, in combination with 
Christian principles and motives, to raise the affections to that Al- 
mighty Being who is the uncreated source of all that is sublime 
and beautiful in creation, — to enkindle the fire of devotion, — to 
excite adoration of his infinite excellences, and to produce pro- 
found humility in his presence. Such studies likewise tend to 



104 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Effects of Science in Social Life. 



preserve the mind in calmness and serenity under the moral dis- 
pensations of Him whose wisdom is displayed in all his arrange- 
ments, and whose " tender mercies are over all his works," — and 
to inspire it with hope and confidence in relation to the future 
scenes of eternity, from a consideration of his power, benevo- 
lence, and intelligence, as displayed throughout the universe, and 
of the inexhaustible sources of felicity he has it in his power to 
distribute among numerous orders of beings throughout an im- 
mortal existence. Contemplating the numerous displays of Di- 
vine munificence around us — the diversified orders of delighted 
existence that people the air, the waters, and the earth, the nice 
adaptation of their organs and faculties to their different situations 
and modes of life, the ample provision made for their wants and 
enjoyments, and the boundless dimensions of the Divine empire, 
where similar instances of beneficence are displayed — the heart 
is disposed to rest with confidence on Him who made it, convin- 
ced that his Almighty power qualifies him to make us happy by 
a variety of means of which we have no adequate conception, and 
that his faithfulness and benevolence dispose him to withhold no 
real good " from them that walk uprightly." 

Such studies would likewise tend to heighten the delights of 
social enjoyment. There is nothing more grating to the man of 
intelligence than the foolish and trifling conversation which pre- 
vails in the various intercourses of social life, even among the 
middling and the higher circles of society, and in convivial asso- 
ciations. The ribaldry, and obscenity, the folly and nonsense, 
and the laughter of fools which too frequently distinguish such 
associations, are a disgrace to our civilized condition, and to our 
moral and intellectual nature. Without supposing that it will 
ever be expedient to lay aside cheerfulness and rational mirth, 
the lively smile, or even the loud laugh, it is surely conceivable, 
that a more rational and improving turn might be given to general 
conversation than what is frequently exemplified in our social in- 
tercourses. And what can we suppose better calculated to ac- 
complish this end than the occasional introduction of topics con- 
nected with science and general knowledge, when all, or the 
greater part, are qualified to take a share in the general conversa- 
tion? It would tend to stimulate the mental faculties, to suggest 
useful hints, to diffuse general information, to improve science 
and art, to excite the ignorant to increase in knowledge, to pre- 
sent interesting objects of contemplation, to enliven the spirits, 
and thus to afford a source of rational enjoyment. It would also 
have a tendency to prevent those shameful excesses, noisy tu- 
mults, and scenes of intemperance which so frequently terminate 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 105 

Effects of Science in Social Life. 



our festive entertainments. For want of qualifications for such 
conversation, cards, dice, childish questions and amusements, 
gossiping chit-chat, and tales of scandal, are generally resorted 
to, in order to consume the hours allotted to social enjoyment. 
And how melancholy the reflection, that rational beings capable 
of investigating the laws and phenomena of the universe, and of 
prosecuting the most exalted range of thought, and who are des- 
tined to exist in other worlds, throughout an endless duration — 
should be impelled to resort to such degrading expedients, to 
wheel away the social hours ! 

Domestic enjoyment might likewise be heightened and improved 
by the studies to which we have adverted. For want of qualifi- 
cations for rational conversation, a spirit of listlessness and indif- 
ference frequently insinuates itself into the intercourses of fami- 
lies, and between married individuals, which sometimes degene- 
rates into fretfulness and impatience, and even into jars, conten- 
tions, and violent altercations ; in which case there can never 
exist any high degree of affection or domestic enjoyment. It is 
surely not unreasonable to suppose, that were the minds of per- 
sons in a married state possessed of a certain portion of know- 
ledge, and endowed with a relish for rational investigations — not 
only would such disagreeable effects be prevented, but a variety 
of positive enjoyments would be introduced. Substantial know- 
ledge, which leads to the proper exercise of the mental powers, 
has a tendency to meliorate the temper, and to prevent those 
ebullitions of passion, which are the results of vulgarity and ig- 
norance. By invigorating the mind, it prevents it from sinking 
into peevishness and inanity. It affords subjects for interesting 
conversation, and augments affection by the reciprocal inter- 
changes of sentiment and feeling, and the mutual communication 
of instruction and entertainment. And in cases where malignant 
passions are ready to burst forth, rational arguments will have a 
more powerful influence in arresting their progress, in cultivated 
minds, than in those individuals in whose constitution animal 
feeling predominates, and reason has lost its ascendancy. As 
an enlightened mind is generally the seat of noble and liberal 
sentiments — in those cases where the parties belong to different 
religious sectaries, there is more probability of harmony and mu- 
tual forbearance being displayed, when persons take an enlarged 
view of the scenes of creation, and the revelations of the Creator, 
than can be expected in the case of those whose faculties are 
immersed in the mists of superstition and ignorance. 

How delightful an enjoyment is it, after the bustle of business 
and the labours of the day are over, — when a married couple 



106 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte. 

11 ■ - — - - r 

can sit down at each corner of the fire, and, with mutual relish 
and interest, read a volume of history or of popular philosophy, 
and talk of the moral government of God, the arrangements of 
his providence, and the wonders of the universe ! Such interest- 
ing conversations and exercises beget a mutual esteem, enliven 
the affections, and produce a friendship lasting as our existence, 
and which no untoward incidents can ever effectually impair. A 
Christian pastor, in giving an account of the last illness of his 
beloved partner, in a late periodical work, when alluding to a book 
she had read along with him about two months before her de- 
cease, says, " I shall never forget the pleasure with which she 
studied the illustrations of the Divine perfections in that interest- 
ing book. Rising from the contemplation of the variety, beauty, 
immensity, and order of the creation, she exulted in the assurance 
of having the Creator for her father, anticipated with great joy 
the vision of him in the next world, and calculated with unhesi- 
tating confidence on the sufficiency of his boundless nature to 
engage her most intense interest, and to render her unspeakably 
happy for ever." It is well known that the late lamented Princess 
Charlotte and her -consort Prince Leopold lived together in the 
greatest harmony and affection ; and from what her biographers 
have stated respecting her education and pursuits, it appears that 
the mutual friendship of these illustrious individuals was height- 
ened and cemented by the rational conversation in which they 
indulged, and the elevated studies to which they were devoted. 
Her course of education embraced the English, classical, French, 
German, and Italian languages ; arithmetic, geography, astro- 
nomy, the first six books of Euclid, algebra, mechanics, and the 
principles of optics and perspective, along with history, the policy 
of governments, and particularly the principles of the Christian 
religion. She was a skilful musician, had a fine perception of 
the picturesque in nature, and was fond of drawing. She took 
great pleasure in strolling on the beach, in marine excursions, in 
walking in the country, in rural scenery, in conversing freely with 
the rustic inhabitants, and in investigating every object that 
seemed worthy of her attention. She was an enthusiastic ad- 
mirer of the grand and beautiful in nature, and the ocean was to 
her an object of peculiar interest. After her union with the 
prince, as their tastes were similar, they engaged in the same 
studies. Gardening, drawing, music, and rational conversation 
diversified their leisure hours. They took great pleasure in the 
culture of flowers — in the classification of them — and in the 
formation, with scientific skill, of a hortus siccus. But the li- 
brary, which was furnished with the best books in our language t 



PLEASURES CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 107 



Effects of Science in Social Life. 



was their favourite place of resort ; and their chief daily pleasure, 
mutual instruction. They were seldom apart either in their oc- 
cupations or in their amusements ; nor were they separated in 
their religious duties. " They took sweet counsel together, and 
walked to the house of God in company ;" and it is also stated, 
on good authority, that they had established the worship of God 
in their family, which was regularly attended by every branch of 
their household. No wonder, then, that they exhibited an au- 
spicious and a delightful example of private and domestic virtue, 
of conjugal attachment, and of unobtrusive charity and benevo- 
lence. In the higher circles of society, as well as in the lower, 
it would be of immense importance to the interests of domestic 
happiness, that the taste of the Princess Charlotte was more 
closely imitated, and that the fashionable frivolity and dissipa- 
tion which so generally prevail were exchanged for the pur- 
suits of knowledge, and the delights of rational and improving 
conversation. Then those family feuds, contentions, and sepa- 
rations, and those prosecutions for matrimonial infidelity which 
are now so common, would be less frequently obtruded on public 
view ; and examples of virtue, affection, and rational conduct, 
would be set before the subordinate ranks of the community, 
which might be attended with the most beneficial and permanent 
results, not only to the present, but to future generations. 

In short, the possession of a large store of intellectual wealth 
would fortify the soul in the prospect of every evil to which hu- 
manity is subjected, and would afford consolation and solace 
when fortune is diminished, and the greater portion of external 
comforts is withdrawn. Under the frowns of adversity, those 
worldly losses and calamities which drive unthinking men to 
desperation and despair would be borne wifh a becoming magna- 
nimity ; the mind having within itself the chief resources of its 
happiness, and becoming almost independent of the world around 
it. For to the individual whose happiness chiefly depends on 
intellectual pleasures, retirement from general society and the 
bustle of the world is often the state of his highest enjoyment. 

Thus I have endeavoured briefly to illustrate the enjoyments 
which a general diffusion of knowledge would produce — from a 
consideration of the limited conceptions of the untutored mind, 
contrasted with the ample and diversified range of view presented 
to the enlightened understanding — from the delightful tendency 
of scientific pursuits, in enabling us to trace, from a single prin- 
ciple, an immense variety of effects, and surprising and unex- 
pected resemblances, where we least expected to find them, — 



10S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



True Happiness dependent on the Mind. 



from the grand and sublime objects it presents before us — from 
the variety of novel and interesting scenes which the different 
departments of physical science unfold — from the exercise of 
tracing the steps by which scientific discoveries have been made 
— and from the influence of such studies on the affections and on 
social and domestic enjoyment. 

For want of the knowledge to which I have alluded, it happens 
that few persons who have been engaged in commercial or agri- 
cultural pursuits feel much enjoyment, when, in the decline' of 
life, they retire from the active labours in which they had been 
previously engaged. Retirement and respite from the cares of 
business afford them little gratification, and they feel a vacuity 
within which nothing around them or within the range of their 
conceptions can fill up. Being destitute of a taste for intellectual 
pursuits, and devoid of that substratum of thought which is the 
ground-work of mental activity and of rational contemplation, 
they enjoy nothing of that mental liberty and expansion of soul 
which the retreats of solitude afford to the contemplative mind ; 
and, when not engaged in festive associations, are apt to sink 
into a species of listlessness and ennui. They stalk about from one 
place to another without any definite object in view — look at every 
thing around with a kind of unconscious gaze — are glad to indulge 
in trifling talk and gossip with every one they meet — and, feeling 
how little enjoyment they derive from their own reflections, not 
unfrequently slide into habits of sensuality and intemperance. 

From what we have stated on this topic, it evidently appears 
that the pursuits of science are fitted to yield a positive gratifica- 
tion to every rational mind. It presents to view processes, com- 
binations, metamorphoses, motions, and objects of various de- 
scriptions calculated to arrest the attention and to astonish the 
mind, far more than all the romances and tales of wonder that 
were ever invented by the human imagination. When the plea- 
sures arising from such studies are rendered accessible to all, 
human happiness will be nearly on a level, and the different ranks 
of mankind will enjoy it nearly in an equal degree. As true en- 
joyment depends chiefly on the state of the mind, and the train 
of thought that passes through it, it follows, that when a man 
prosecutes a rational train of thought, and finds a pleasure in the 
contemplation of intellectual objects, his happiness is less de- 
pendent on mere sensitive enjoyments, and a smaller portion of 
external comforts will be productive of enjoyment than in the 
case of those whose chief pleasure consists in sensual gratifica- 
tions. When intellectual pursuits, therefore, shall occupy the 
chief attention of mankind, we may indulge the hope, that those 



PRACTICAL TENDENCIES OF SCIENCE. 109 



Arts of Dying and Calico Printing. 



restless and insatiable desires which avarice and ambition never 
cease to create will seldom torment the soul, and that a noble 
generosity of mind in relation to riches will distinguish persons 
of every rank, and be the means of producing enjoyment where- 
ever its influence extends. 



SECTION V. 

On the Practical Influence of Scientific Knowledge, and its len- 
dency to promote the external comforts of general society. 

In the preceding section I have considered the beneficial ten- 
dency of knowledge and the pleasures it affords, chiefly in reference 
to the understanding and the affections. In the present section 
I shall consider it more particularly, in regard to its practical ef- 
fects on the active employments and the external comforts of the 
middling and lower orders of the community. — Every art, being 
founded on scientific principles, and directed in its operations by 
the experimental deductions of philosophy, it follows, that a know- 
ledge of the principles of science must be conducive to a skilful 
practice of the aits, and must have a tendency to direct the genius 
of the artist to carry them to their highest pitch of improvement. 
In allustrating this topic, I shall endeavour to show that an ac- 
quaintance with science, would render mechanics, manufacturers, 
and labourers, more expert and skilful in their different depart- 
ments — would pave the way for future discoveries and improve- 
ments — and that the knowledge and spirit which produced such 
improvements would promote the external comforts of mankind. 

I. A knowledge of the principles of science would render ma- 
nufacturers, mechanics, and common labourers of all descriptions 
more skilful in their respective professions and employments. 

In the arts of citing and calico printing, every process is con- 
ducted on the principles of chemistry. Not a colour can be im- 
parted but in consequence of the affinity which subsists between 
the cloth and the die, — or the die and the mordant employed as a 
bond of union between them ; and the colours will be liable to 
vary, unless the artist take into account the changes which take 
place in them by the absorption of oxygen ; — a knowledge of 
i which and of the different degrees of oxydizement which the seve- 
ral dies undergo, requires a considerable portion of chemical skill; 
and such knowledge is absolutely necessary to enable either the 
dyer or the calico printer to produce in all cases permanent colours 

i 



110 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Bleaching and Brewing. 



of the shade he intends. To chemistry, too, they must be indebt- 
ed for the knowledge they may acquire of the nature of the articles 
they use in their several processes — for the artificial production 
of their most valuable mordants — and for some of their most beau- 
tiful and brilliant colours. As an evidence of this, it is sufficient 
to state, that, to produce such colours as an olive ground and yel- 
low figures, a scarlet pattern on a black ground, or a brown ground 
with orange figures, formerly required a period of many weeks ; 
but by means of chemical preparations, the whole of this work 
may now be done in a few days, and patterns more delicate than 
ever produced, with a degree of certainty of which former manu- 
facturers could have no idea ; and all this is effected by dying the 
cloth a self-colour in the first instance, and afterwards merely print- 
ing the pattern with a chemical preparation, which discharges a 
part of the original die, and leaves a new colour in its stead. 

The art of bleaching has likewise received so many important 
improvements from chemical science, that no one is now capable 
of conducting its processes to advantage who is ignorant of the 
scientific principles on which the present practice of that art is 
founded. Till about the close of the eighteenth century, the old 
tedious process of bleaching continued in practice. But, about 
that period the introduction of the oxy muriatic acid, combined with 
alkalis, lime and other ingredients, in bleaching cottons and linens, 
has given an entirely new turn to every part of the process, so that 
the process which formerly required several months for its com- 
pletion can now be accomplished in a few days, and with a degree 
of perfection which could not previously be attained. Even in a 
few hours, that which formerly required nearly a whole summer, 
can now be effected, and that, too, merely by the action of an al- 
most invisible fluid. As the whole process of bleaching, as now 
practised, consists almost entirely of chemical agents and opera- 
tions, every person employed in this art ought to possess a certain 
portion of chemical knowledge, otherwise many of its processes 
would run the risk of being deranged, and the texture of the ma- 
terials undergoing the process of being either materially injured 
or completely destroyed. 

The operation of breiving fermented liquors is likewise a che- 
mical process. The student of chemistry will learn how the 
barley in the first instance is converted into a saccharine sub- 
stance by malting ; how the fermentative process converts the 
saccharine to a spirituous substance ; and how the latter, by con- 
tinuing the process, becomes changed into vinegar. He will also 
learn the means of promoting and encouraging this process, and 
how to retard and check it, when it is likely to be carried too far, 



UTILITY OF CHEMICAL KNOWLEDGE. Ill 



Importance of Chemistry in various Arts. 



so as to be sure of uniformly obtaining satisfactory results. In 
this and in every other process, it must therefore be of importance 
to acquire some knowledge of the principles of natural substances, 
and of the nature of those changes which take place in the mate- 
rials on which we operate. In the manufacture of soap, it is 
reckoned by those intimately acquainted with the process, that 
many thousands per annum, now lost to the community, might 
be saved, were the trade carried on upon scientific principles. 
When a soap-boiler is an accomplished chemist, he knows how 
to analyze barilla, kelp, potass, and other materials, so as to ascer- 
tain the proportion of alkali in each ; and when these articles are 
at an exorbitant price, he will have recourse to various residuums, 
which he will decompose by chemical means, and use as substi- 
tutes. He will know how to oxydize the common oils and oil- 
dregs, so as to give them consistence, and render them good 
substitutes for tallow — and how to apportion his lime so as to 
make his alkali perfectly caustic, without using an unnecessary 
quantity of that article. The manufacture of candles might also 
derive advantage from chemical science. It is found that foreign 
tallows frequently contain a large portion of acid rendering them 
inferior to the English, which by chemical means may be purified 
at a very small expense, and by the proper application of chemi- 
cal agents, other brown tallows may be rendered beautifully 
white, and fit for the best purposes.* 

The tanning of hides is now ascertained to consist in impreg- 
nating the animal matter with that peculiar principle taken from 
the vegetable kingdom, called tan, the effect of which is explain- 
ed entirely on chemical principles. It is now known that many 
substances besides oak-bark, contain tan, and to chemistry we 
are indebted for the means of discovering with accuracy the 
quantity of tan which the several astringent vegetables contain. 
It is supposed not to be improbable, when the manufacturers 
shall have paid proper attention to chemical science, that the 
article in question may be prepared in chemical laboratories, so 
as entirely to supersede the use of oak bark, since the principle 
of tanning has already been formed artificially by a modern che- 
mist, "j* — It is also well known, that to chemical research, the 
manufacturers of earthenware and porcelain are indebted for the 
improved state in which they are now found. For, the success- 
ful management of all their branches, from the mixture of the 
materials which form the body of the ware, to the production of 

* For most of the above hints the author is indebted to Mr. Parkes. 
f Seguin, See NicolsorVs Phil. Journal, 4to. vol. i. p. 271. 



112 ON THE CxENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Importance of Chemistry in various Arts. 



those brilliant colours with which such articles are adorned — is 
dependant on the principles of chemical science. The celebrated 
Wedgwood, to whom this branch of manufacture is so highly in- 
debted, devoted his whole attention to the improvement of his art 
by the application of his chemical knowledge, of which few men 
possessed a larger share ; and he has been heard to declare, 
" that nearly all die diversified colours applied to his pottery were 
produced only by the oxides of iron." 

There are few persons to whom a knowledge of chemistry is 
of more importance than to the agriculturist. It will teach him 
to analyze the soils on the different parts of his farm, and to sub- 
ject to experiment the peat, the marie, the lime, and other manures, 
in order to ascertain the advantages to be derived from them, and 
the propriety of applying them in particular instances. It will 
teach him when to use lime hot from the kiln, and when slacked, 
how to promote the putrefactive process in his composts, and at 
what period to check it, so as to prevent the fertilizing particles 
becoming unprolific and of little value. It will also teach him 
the difference in the properties of marie, lime, dung, mud, ashes, 
alkaline salt, soap- waste, sea- water, and other manures, and, 
consequently, which to prefer in all varieties of soil. It is said 
that the celebrated Lavoisier cultivated 240 acres of land in La 
Vendee, on chemical principles, in order to set a good example 
to the farmers ; and his mode of culture was attended with so 
much success that he obtained a third more of crop than was pro- 
cured by the usual method, and in nine years his annual produce 
was doubled. 

I might also have illustrated the practical advantages of che- 
mical science in relation to the art of extracting metals from their 
ores, — the conversion of iron into steel, and the metallic ore into 
malleable iron — the manufacture of glass, alum, copperas, blue 
vitriol, soda, potash, morocco leather, paper, starch, varnish, and 
Prussian-blue — the refining of sugar, saltpetre, gold and silver — • 
the artificial formation of ice — the method of preserving fish, 
meat, and other articles of food, and various other processes con- 
nected with the practical departments of life, all of which are 
strictly chemical operations, and can be improved and brought 
to perfection chiefly by the knowledge and application of the doc- 
trines and facts of chemical science. 

With regard to the professions of the physician, surgeon, and 
apothecary, it is now universally admitted, that an extensive ac- 
quaintance with the principles and facts of chemistry is essen- 
tially requisite to the successful practice of these arts. The 
human body may be considered as a species of laboratory, in 



UTILITY OF CHEMICAL KNOWLEDGE. 113 



Use of the different Branches of Mathematics. 



which the various processes of absorption, secretion, fermenta- 
tion, composition, and decomposition, are incessantly going for- 
ward. Every article of food and drink we throw into the sto- 
mach, every portion of atmospheric air we receive into the lungs, 
every impression we derive from the surrounding elements, every 
motion of the heart and lungs, and every pulse that vibrates 
within us, may be considered as effecting a chemical change in 
the vital fluids, and in every part of the animal system ; the na- 
ture of which it is of the utmost importance to the medical prac- 
titioner thoroughly to investigate and understand. For, how can 
he be supposed to be successful in his attempts to counteract the 
disorders to which the human frame is incident, and to produce a 
chemical effect on the constitution of his patient, if he is ignorant 
either of the processes which are going on in the system, of the 
chemical properties of the substances which he throws into it, or 
of the effects which they will certainly produce ? IT he is igno- 
rant of the chemical affinities that subsist between the various 
articles of the materia medica, he may often administer prepara- 
tions which are not only inefficacious, but even poisonous and 
destructive to his patient. TV hen two chemical substances, each 
of which might be administered separately with safety, are com- 
bined, they sometimes produce a substance which is highly dele- 
terious to the animal system. For example, although mercury 
and oxygenized muriatic acid have both been administered, and 
either of them maybe taken separately without injury to the ani- 
mal economy, — yet, if a medical practitioner, ignorant of the 
chemical affinities of such substances, and of the quality of the 
compound, should give both of them in conjunction, the most 
dreadful consequences might ensue ; since the product of this 
mixture, oxygenized muriate of mercury, is known to be a most 
corrosive poison ; and there can be little doubt that hundreds of 
lives have been destroyed by ignorant pretenders to medical 
science, in consequence of the injudicious administration of such 
deleterious preparations. 

But chemistry is not the only science which is of utility in the 
arts which minister to the comfort and pecuniary interests of so- 
ciety. Geometry, trignometry, conic sections, and other branches 
of mathematical knowledge ; hydrostatics, hydraulics, mechanics, 
optics, botany, mineralogy and the other departments of the 
physical sciences, may be rendered of essential service to ar- 
tisans and mechanics of various descriptions. All the sci- 
ences are, in some degree, connected, and reflect a mutual 
light upon one another ; and consequently the man who has 
the most extensive acquaintance with science is best quali- 
10* 



114 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Practical Geometry. 



tied lor carrying to perfection any one department of the useful 
arts. 

Practical geometry is highly useful to almost every mechanic 
and artisan, particularly to millwrights, bricklayers, carpenters* 
and masons. It teaches them to form angles of any assigned 
number of degrees, to draw parallel and perpendicular lines, to 
proportion circumferences to diameters, to divide circular rims 
into any number of parts, to estimate the square or cubical con- 
tents of any piece of workmanship, and to calculate the price 
they ought to receive for any work they perform, according to its 
solid or superficial dimensions. In forming estimates of the ex- 
pense of any proposed undertaking, the carpenter, bricklayer, 
and architect, must find such knowledge essentially requisite ; 
and even the common labourer, who undertakes the formation 
of roads, the digging of pits, and the clearing away of rubbish, 
will find the principles of arithmetic and geometry of important 
service in estimating the rate at which he can perform such ope- 
rations. The following geometrical theorems, besides many 
others, are capable of a variety of practical applications, in many 
departments of the arts. " If, from the two ends of any diameter 
of the circle two lines be drawn to meet in any one point of the 
circle whatever, such lines are perpendicular to each other," or, 
in other words, they form a right angle at the point of contact.* 

* For example, if from the two ends of the diameter A and B, the lines 





AC BC be drawn to the point C, these lines will be perpendicular to each 



UTILITY OF MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES. 115 

The Physical Sciences. 

*- — ,.■■■■! 

Again, " The areas of all circles are in exact proportion to the 
squares of their radii, or half-diameters." If, for example, we 
draw a circle with a pair of compasses whose points are stretched 
4 inches asunder, and another with an extent of eight inches, the 
large circle is exactly four times the size or area of the small one. 
For the square of 4 is = 16, and the square of 8 is = 64, which 
is four times 16. And as the circumferences of the circles are 
in proportion to the radii, it will follow, that the length of a string 
which would go round the curve of the larger circle is exactly 
double the length of one which would go round the lesser. Me- 
chanics, in recognising such theorems, will meet with many op- 
portunities of reducing them to practice. Again, there is a figure 
which geometricians term a parabola, which is formed every 
time we pour water forcibly from the mouth of a tea-kettle, or 
throw a stone forward from the hand. One property of the para- 
bola is, that if a spout of water be directed at half a perpendicular 
from the ground, or at an angle of elevation of 45 degrees, it will 
come to the ground at a greater distance than if any other di- 
rection had been given it, a slight allowance being made for the 
resistance of the air. Hence the man who guides the pipe of a 
fire-engine may be directed how to throw the water to the greatest 
distance, and he who aims at a mark, to give the projectile its 
proper direction. To surveyors, navigators, land-measurers, 
guagers, and engineers, a knowledge of the mathematical sciences 
is so indispensably requisite, that without it such arts cannot be 
skilfully exercised. 

The physical sciences are also of the greatest utility in almost 
every department of art. To masons, architects, ship-builders, 
carpenters, and every other class employed in combining mate- 
rials, raising weights, quarrying stones, building piers and bridges, 
splitting rocks, or pumping water from the bowels of the earth, — 
a knowledge of the principles of mechanics and dynamics is of 
the first importance. By means of these sciences the nature of 
the lever and other mechanical powers may be learned, and their 
forces estimated — the force produced by any particular combina- 
tion of these powers calculated — and the best mode of applying 

other, and consequently the angle at C will be a right angle. In like manner 
the lines AD and BD, AB and BE, will stand at right angles to each other ; 
and the game will be the case to whatever point of the circle such lines are 
drawn. The practical application of this principle, in various operations, 
will at once be obvious to the intelligent mechanic, especially when he in- 
tends the two ends or sides of any piece of machinery to stand perpendicular 
to each other. 



116 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



The Physical Sciences. 



such forces to accomplish certain effects ascertained. By a 
combination of the mechanical powers the smallest force may be 
multiplied to an almost indefinite extent, and with such assistance 
man has been enabled to rear works and to perform operations 
which excite astonishment, and which his own physical strength, 
assisted by all that the low r er animals could furnish, would have 
been altogether inadequate to accomplish. An acquaintance with 
the experiments which have been made to determine the strength 
of materials, and the results which have been deduced from them, 
is of immense importance to every class of mechanics employed 
in engineering and architectural operations. From such experi- 
ments (which have only been lately attended to on scientific 
principles) many useful deductions might be made respecting the 
best form of mortises, joints, beams, tenons, scarphs, &c. ; the 
art of mast-making, and the manner of disposing and combining 
the strength of different substances in naval architecture, and in 
the rearing of our buildings. For example, — from the experi- 
ments now alluded to it has been deduced, that the strength of 
any piece of material depends chiefly on its depth, or on that 
dimension which is in the direction of its strain. A bar of timber 
of one inch in breadth and two inches in depth is four times as 
strong as a bar of only one inch deep : and it is twice as strong 
as a bar two inches broad and one deep, that is, a joint or lever 
is always strongest when laid on its edge. Hence it follows, that 
the strongest joist that can be cut out of a round tree is not the 
one which has the greatest quantity of timber in it, but such that 
the product of its breadth by the square of its depth shall be the 
greatest possible. Again, from the same experiments it is found, 
that a hollow tube is stronger than a solid rod containing the same 
quantity of matter. This property of hollow tubes is also accom- 
panied with greater stiffness ; and the superiority in strength and 
stiffness is so much the greater as the surrounding shell is thinner 
in proportion to its diameter. Hence we find that the bones of 
men and other animals are formed hollow, which renders them 
incomparably stronger and stiffer, gives more room for the inser- 
tion of muscles, and makes them lighter and more agile, than if 
they were constructed of solid matter. In like manner, the bones 
of birds, which are thinner than those of other animals, and the 
quills in their wings, acquire by their thinness the strength which 
is necessary, while they are so light as to give sufficient buoyancy 
to the animal in its flight through the aerial regions. Our engi- 
neers and carpenters have of late begun to imitate nature in this 
respect, and now make their axles and other parts of machinery 



UTILITY OF MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES. 



117 



Hydrostatics and Hydraulics. 



hollow, which both saves a portion of materials, and renders them 
stronger than if they were solid.* 

The departments of hydrostatics and hydraulics, which treat of 
the pressure and motion of fluids, and the method of estimating 
their velocity and force, require to be thoroughly understood by 
all those who are employed in the construction of common and 
forcing pumps, water-mills, fountains, fire-engines, hydrostatical 
presses ; and in the formation of canals, wet-docks, and directing 
the course of rivers ; otherwise they will constantly be liable to 
commit egregious blunders, and can never rise to eminence in 
their respective professions. Such principles as the following : 
— that fluids press equally in all directions, — that they press as 
much upwards as dowmvards, — that water, in several tubes that 
communicate with each other, will stand at the same height in all 
of them, whether they be small or great, perpendicular or oblique, 
— that the pressure of fluids is directly as their perpendicular 
height, without any regard to their quantity, — and that the quan- 
tities of water discharged at the same time by different apertures, 
under the same height of surface in the reservoir, are to each 
other nearly as the areas of their apertures, — will be found capable 
of extensive application to plumbers, engineers, pump-makers, 
and all who are employed in conducting water over hills or val- 
leys, or in using it as a mechanical power, by a recognition of 
which they will be enabled to foresee, with certainty, the results 
to be expected from their plans and operations ; for want of 
which knowledge many plausible schemes have been frustrated, 
and sums of money expended to no purpose. 

The following figures and explanations will tend to illustrate 
some of the principles now stated : — 1. Fluids press in proportion 

1. 

E 




* The mechanical reader who wishes particular information on this subject 
is referred to the article Strength of Materials in Ency. Brit. 3d edit, which 
was written by the late Professor Robison. 



118 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Hydrostatics and Hydraulics. 



Fig. 3. 




to their perpendicular heights, and the base of the vessel contain- 
ing them, without regard to the quantity. Thus, if the vessel 
ABC, Fig. 2, has its base BC equal to the base FG of the cylin- 
drical vessel DEFG, Fig. 1, but is much smaller at the top A 
than at the bottom, and of the same height ; the pressure upon the 
bottom BC is as great as the pressure upon the bottom of the ves- 
sel DEFG, when they are filled with water, or any other liquid, 
notwithstanding that there will be a much greater quantity of water 
in the cylindrical than in the conical vessel ; or, in other words, 
the bottom BC will sustain a pressure equal to what it would be 
if the vessel were as wide at the top as at the bottom. In like 
manner, the bottom of the vessel HIKL, Fig. 3, sustains a pres 
sure only equal to the column whose base is KL, and height 
KM, and not as the whole quantity of fluid contained in the ves- 
sel ; all the rest of the fluid being supported by the sides. The 
demonstration of these positions would occupy too much room, 
and to many readers would appear too abstract and uninteresting ; 
but they will be found satisfactorily demonstrated in most books 
which treat of the doctrines of hydrostatics. 

2. The positions now stated form the foundation of the hydro- 
statical paradox, namely, " that a quantity of fluid, however small, 
may be made to counterpoise a quantity however great." Thus, 
if to a wide vessel AB we attach a tube CD, communicating with 
the vessel, and pour water into it, the water will run into the larger 
vessel AB, arid will stand at the same height C and G in both. 
If we affix an inclined tube EF, likewise communicating with the 
large vessel, the water will also stand at E at the same height as 
in the other two ; the perpendicular altitude being the same in all 
the three tubes, however small the one may be in proportion to 
the other. This experiment clearly proves that the small column 
of water balances and supports the large column, which it could 
not do if the lateral pressures at bottom were not equal to each 



• 



4 



UTILITY OF HYDROSTATICS. 



119 



Mode of conveying Water across Valleys. 



other. Whatever be the inclination of the tube EF, still the per- 
pendicular altitude will be the same as that of the other tubes, al- 
though the column of water must be much longer than those in the 
upright tubes. Hence it is evident, that a small quantity of a fluid 
mayt under certain circumstances, counterbalance any quantity of 
the same fluid. Hence also the truth of the principle in hydro- 
statics, that " in tubes which have a communication, tohether they 
be equal or unequal, short or oblique, the fluid always rises to the 
same height." From these facts it follows, that water cannot be 
conveyed by means of a pipe that is laid in a reservoir to any 
place that is higher than the reservoir. 

Fig. 4. 
A 




These principles point out the mode of conveying water across 
valleys without those expensive aqueducts which were erected by 
the ancients for this purpose. A pipe, conforming to the shape 
of the valley, will answer every purpose of an aqueduct. Sup- 
pose the spring at A, Fig. 5, and water is wanted on the other side 
of the valley to supply the house H, a pipe of lead or iron laid 
from the spring-head across the valley will convey the water up to 
the level of the spring-head ; and if the house stand a little lower 
than the spring-head, a constant stream will pour into the cisterns 
and ponds where it is required, as if the house had stood on the 
other side of the valley ; and, consequently, will save the expense 
of the arches BB, by which the ancient Romans conducted 
water from one hill to another. But, if the valley be very deep, 
the pipes must be made very strong near its bottom, otherwise 
they will be apt to burst ; as the pressure of water increases in 



, 



120 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Pressure of Fluids. 



the rapid ratio of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c. and is always in proportion to 
its perpendicular height. 

Fig. 5. 




3. Fluids press in all directions, laterally and upwards, as well 
as downwards. That fluids press laterally may be seen by boring 
a hole in the side of a cask containing any liquid, when the liquid 
will run out in consequence of the lateral pressure. The upward 
pressure is not so obvious, but is clearly proved by the following 
experiment, with an instrument generally termed the hydrostatic 
bellows : — This machine consists of two thick oval boards, about 
18 inches long and 16 inches broad, united to each other by 
leather, so as to open and shut like a pair of common bellows, but 
without valves. Into this instrument a pipe B, several feet high, 
is fixed at D. If we pour water into the pipe at its top C, it will 
run into the bellows and separate the boards a little. If we then 
lay three weights, each weighing 100 pounds, upon the upper 
board, and pour more water into the pipe, it will run into the bel- 
lows, and raise up the board with all the weights upon it. And 
though the water in the tube should weigh in all only a quarter of 
a pound, yet the pressure of this small force upon the water below 
in the bellows shall support the weights, which are 300 pounds ; 
nor will they have weight enough to make them descend, and 
conquer the weight of water, by forcing it out of the mouth of the 
pipe. The reason of this will appear from what has been already 
stated respecting the pressure of fluids of equal heights, without 
any regard to the quantities. For, if a hole be made in the upper 
board, and a tube be put into it, the water will rise in the tube to 
the same height that it does in the pipe ; and it would rise as high 
(by supplying the pipe) in as many tubes as the board would con- 
tain holes. Hence, if a man stand upon the upper board, and blow 
into the bellows through the pipe, he will raise himself upward 
upon the board ; and the smaller the bore of the pipe is, the easier 



UTILITY OF HYDROSTATICS. 



121 



Hydrostatic Bellows. 



Fig. 6 




will he be able to raise himself. And if he put his finder on the 
top of the pipe, he may support himself as long as he pleases. 

The uses to which this power may be applied are of great va- 
riety and extent ; and the branches of art dependant upon it ap- 
pear to be yet in their infancy. By the application of this power, 
the late Mr. Bramah formed what is called the Hydrostatic Press, 
by which a prodigious force is obtained, and by the help of which, 
hay, straw, wool, and other light substances maybe forced into a 
very small bulk, so as to be taken in large quantities on board a 
ship. With a machine, on this principle, of the size of a tea-pot, 
standing before him on a table, a man is enabled to cut through a 
thick bar of iron as easily as he could clip a piece of pasteboard 
with a pair of shears. By this machine a pressure of 500 or 600 
tons may be brought to bear upon any substances which it is wished 
to press, to tear up, to cut in pieces, or to pull asunder. 

Upon the same principle, the tun or hogshead HI, Fig. 7, when 
li 



122 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Illustration of Water-Powei 



filled with water, may be burst, by pressing it with some pounds 
additional weight of the fluid through the small tube KL, which 
may be supposed to be from 25 to 30 feet in height. From what 
has been already stated, it necessarily follows, that the small quan- 
tity of water which the tube KL contains presses upon the bottom 
of the tun with as much force as if a column of water had been 
added as wide as the tun itself, and as long as the tube, which 
would evidently be an enormous weight. A few years ago, a 
friend of mine, when in Ireland, performed this experiment to 
convince an English gentleman, who called in question the princi- 
ple, and who laid a bet of fifty pounds that it would not succeed. 
A hogshead, above 3 feet high, and above 2 feet wide, was filled 
with water ; a leaden tube, with a narrow bore, between 20 and 
30 feet long, was firmly inserted into the top of the hogshead ; a 
person, from the upper window of a house, poured in a decanter 
of water into the tube, and, before the decanter was quite emptied, 
the hogshead began to swell, and, in two or three seconds, burst 
into pieces, while the w T ater was scattered about with immense 
force. 

Hence, we may easily perceive what mischief may sometimes 
be done by a very small quantity of water, when it happens to act 
according to its perpendicular height. Suppose, that in any build- 
ing, near the foundation, a small quantity of water, only of the ex- 
tent of a square yard, has settled, and suppose it to have completely 
filled up the whole vacant space, if a tube of 20 feet long were 
thrust down into the water, and filled with water from above, a 
force of more than 5 tons would be applied to that part of the 
building, which would blow it up with the same force as gunpow T - 
der.* The same effect may sometimes be produced by rain fall- 
ing into long narrow chinks, that may have inadvertently been left 
in building the walls of a house ; which shows the importance of 
filling up every crevice and opening of a building, and rendering 
the walls as close and compact as possible. Hence, likewise, 
similar processes in nature, connected with pools of water in the 
bowels of the earth, may occasionally produce the most dreadful 
devastations. For, should it happen that, in the interior of a 
mountain, two or three hundred feet below the surface, a pool of 
water thirty or forty square feet in extent, and only an inch or two 
in depth, was collected, and a small crevice or opening of half an 
inch in breadth were continued from the surface to the water in 
the pool ; and were this crevice to be filled with rain or melted 
snow, the parts around the layer of water would sustain a pres- 
sure of more than six hundred tons,, which might shake the moun- 

* See Fig. 8, p. 151. 



UTILITY OF HYDROSTATICS. 123 



Pressure of Fluids. 



tain to its centre, and even rend it with the greatest violence. In 
this way, there is every reason to believe, partial earthquakes have 
been produced, and large fragments of mountains detached from 
their bases. _ 

The principles now illustrated are capable of the most exten- 
sive application, particularly in all engineering and hydraulic 
operations. It is on the principle of the lateral and upward pres- 
sure of fluids that the water, elevated by the New River water- 
works, in the vicinity of London, after having descended from a 
basin in a vertical pipe, and then, after having flowed horizontally 
in a succession of pipes under the pavement, is raised up again 
through another pipe, as high as the fountain in the Temple Gar- 
den. It is upon the same principle that a vessel may be filled 
either at the mouth or at the bottom indifferently, provided that it 
is done through a pipe, the top of which is as high as the top of 
the vessel to be filled. Hence, likewise, it follows, that when 
I piers, aqueducts, or other hydraulic works for the retention of 
water, are to be constructed, it becomes necessary to proportion 
their strength to the lateral pressure which they are likely to sus- 
tain, which becomes greater in proportion to the height of the 
water to be sustained. Walls, likewise, designed to support ter- 
races, ought to be sufficiently strong to resist the lateral pressure 
of the earth and rubbish which they are to sustain, since this 
pressure will be greater as the particles of earth of which the 
terraces are composed are less bound together, and in proportion 
as the terraces are more elevated. The increase of pressure in 
proportion to the depth of any fluid likewise shows the necessity 
of forming the sides of pipes or masonry in which fluids are to 
be retained, stronger toivards the bottom, where the pressure is 
greatest. If they are no thicker than w 7 hat is sufficient for re- 
sisting the pressure near the top, they will soon give way by the 
superior pressure near the bottom ; and if they are thick enough 
in every part to resist the great pressure below, they will be 
stronger than necessary in the parts above, and, consequently, a 
superfluous expense, that might have been saved, will be incurred 
in the additional materials and labour employed in their con- 
struction. The same principle is applicable to the construc- 
tion of flood-gates, dams, and banks of every description, 
for resisting the force of water. When the strength and 
thickness requisite for resisting the* pressure at the greatest 
depth is once ascertained, the walls or banks may be made 
to taper upwards, according to a certain ratio founded on the 
strength of the materials, and the gradual decrease of pressure 
from the bottom upwards ; or, if one side be made perpen- 



124 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Pressure of Fluids. 



dicular, the other may proceed in a slanting direction towards 
the top. 

From the principles and experiments now stated, we may also 
learn the reason why the banks of ponds, rivers, and canals bloio 
up, as it is termed. It* water can insinuate itself under a bank 
or dam, even although the layer of water were no thicker than a 
half-crown piece, the pressure of the water in the canal or pond will 
force it up. In Fig* 8, let A represent the section of a river or 
canal, and BB a drain running under one of its banks; it is evi- 
dent, that if the bank C is not heavier than the column of water 
DB, that part of the bank must inevitably give way. This effect 
may be prevented in artificial canals by making the sides very 
tight with clay heavily rammed down, or by cutting a trench EF, 




about a foot and a half wide, along the bank of the river or canal, 
and a little deeper than the bottom of the canal, which, being 
filled up with earth or clay well moistened with water, forms, 
when dry, a kind of wall through which the water cannot pene- 
trate. By inattention to such circumstances many disasters have 
happened, and much expense needlessly incurred ; and, there- 
fore, the scientific principles to which I have now adverted ought 
to be known, even by labourers of the lowest rank employed in 
operations carried on for the improvement of the country. 

To the want of a recognition of these principles may be attri- 
buted the failure of the following scheme, and the disaster with 
which it was attended : — After the diving-bell was invented, it 
was considered desirable to devise some means of remaining for 
any length of time under water, and rising at pleasure without as- 
sistance. " Some years ago, an ingenious individual proposed 
a project, by which this end was to be accomplished. It con- 
sisted in sinking the hull of a ship made quite water-tight, with 



PRACTICAL UTILITY OF PNEUMATICS. 125 

Properties of Air. 

the decks and sides 1 strongly supported by shores, and the only . 
entry secured by a stout trap-door, in such a manner, that, by 
disengaging from within the weights employed to sink it, it might 
rise of itself to the surface. To render the trial more satisfactory 
and the result more striking, the projector himself made the first 
essay. It was agreed that he should sink in twenty fathoms water, 
and rise again without assistance at the expiration of twenty-four 
hours. Accordingly, making all secure, fastening down his trap- 
door, and provided with all necessaries, as well as with the means 
of making signals to indicate his situation, this unhappy victim 
of his own ingenuity entered, and was sunk. No signal was 
made, and the time appointed elapsed. An immense concourse 
of people had assembled to witness his rising, but in vain : for the 
vessel was never seen more. The pressure of the water at so 
great a depth had, no doubt, been completely under-estimated, 
and the sides of the vessel being at once crushed in, the unfor- 
tunate projector perished before he could even make the signal 
concerted to indicate his distress."* 

Many other applications of the principles of hydrostatics might 
have been mentioned, but what has been now stated may serve 
to exemplify the practical utility of an acquaintance with such 
principles, not only to engineers and superintendents of public 
works, but to mechanics and artificers of every description. 

The science of Pneumatics, which treats of the mechanical 
properties of the atmosphere, will likewise be found useful to 
mechanics and artists of various descriptions, to whom it is, in 
many cases, of importance to know something of the effects of the 
resistance, the pressure, and the elasticity of air. The construc- 
tion of barometers, syphons, syringes, and air-pumps, depends 
upon the pressure of the atmosphere, and likewise water-pumps, 
fire-engines, and many other hydraulic machines ; and, conse- 
quently, the constructors of such instruments and engines must 
frequently act at random, if they are unacquainted with the nature 
and properties of the atmosphere, and the agency it exerts in such 
I mechanical contrivances. | Even the carpenter and the mason 

* Hersche!'- u Discourse on the Study of Nat. Philosophy." 
t As an illustration of the importance of being acquainted with the atmos- 
pheric pressure, the following anecdote may be here inserted:— A respecta- 
ble gentleman of landed property, in one of the middle counties of Scotland, 
applied to a friend of mine, a lecturer onChemistrv and Natural Philosophy, 
in order to obtain his advice respecting a pump-well which he had lately con- 
structed at considerable expense. He told him, that, notwithstanding every 
exertion, he could not obtain a drop of water from the spout, although he was 
quite sure there was plenty of water in the well, and although he had plastered 
italL around and blocked up every crevice. When my friend inspected the pump, 



126 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Construction of Chimneys. 



may be directed, in some of their operations, by an acquaintance 
with the doctrines of pneumatics. When two pieces of wood are 
to be glued together, they are first made as even and smooth as 
possible ; the glue is then applied to one or both of the surfaces ; 
they are then pressed together till the glue has become thoroughly 
dry. The use of the glue is to fill up every crevice in the pores 
of the wood, so as to prevent the admission of any portion of air 
between the pieces ; and then the atmosphere, with a force equal 
to 15 pounds on every square inch, presses the pieces firmly to- 
gether. A knowledge of this principle will suggest the propriety 
of filling up every opening or crevice, and continuing the pressure 
for some time, as the air, wherever it gains admission, has a 
tendency, by its elastic force, to loosen every species of cement. 
The same principle might direct bricklayers and masons, in build- 
ing either stone or brick- walls, in suggesting the propriety of filling 
up every crevice with the most tenacious cements, so as to prevent 
the access of the external air to the interior of the walls. For 
there can be no question that the firmness and stability of our 
houses and garden- walls depend, in part, upon the pressure of the 
atmosphere, after the interior crevices are thoroughly filled up. 
An extensive knowledge of this science would likewise direct them 
to the proper mode of constructing the flues of chimneys, so as to 
prevent that most disagreeable of all circumstances in dwelling- 
houses, smoky chimneys. From ignorance of the effects of heat, 
of the experiments that have been made on rarefied air, and their 
relation to our common fires, — of the proper dimensions of funnels, 
— of the effects of winds and currents of air, — of the proper height 
and width of chimneys, — of the method of promoting a good 
draught, and making the air pass as near the fire as possible, and 
various other particulars requisite to be attended to in the coa- 
struction of fireplaces and their flues ; many dwelling-houses 
have been bungled, and rendered almost uninhabitable. The 
workmen, in such operations, without any rational principle to 

he suspected that the upper part of the well was air tight, and, consequently, 
that tile atmospheric pressure could not act on the surface of the water in the 
well. He immediately ordered a hole to be bored adjacent to the pump, 
when the air rushed in with considerable force ; and, on pumping-, the water 
flowed copiously from the spout. The gentleman was both overjoyed and 
astonished ; bur, it is somewhat astonishing that neither he, nor his neigh- 
bours, nor any of the workmen who had been employed in its construction, 
should have been able to point out the cause of the defect ; but, on the other 
hand, should have taken the very opposite means for remedying it, namely, by 
plastering up every crevice, so as to produce a kind of vacuum within the well. 
This and similar facts show how little progress scientific knowledge has yet 
made, even among the middle classes of the community. 



PRACTICAL UTILITY OF PNEUMATICS. 127 



Construction of Chimneys. 



guide them, carry up funnels in the easiest way they can, accord- 
ing to the practice of " use and wont," and leave the tenants or 
proprietors of the houses they erect to get rid of their smoke in the 
best way their fancy can contrive. Whereas, were chimneys and 
their flues constructed according to the principles of science, they 
might be rendered, almost with certainty, completely efficient for 
the purpose intended. 

To all who are acquainted with the nature and properties of 
elastic fluids, it must be obvious, that the whole mystery of curing 
smoky chimneys consists in finding out and removing the acci- 
dental causes which prevent the heated smoke from being forced 
up the chimney by the pressure of the cool or heavier air of the 
room. These causes are various ; but that which will be found 
most commonly to operate is, the bad construction of the chim- 
ney in the neighbourhood of the fireplace. " The great fault," 
says Count Rumford, " of all the open fireplaces now in common 
use is, that they are much too large, or rather it is the throat oj 
the chimney, or the lower part of its open canal, in the neighbour- 
hood of the mantle, and immediately over the fire, which is too 
large." The following is a condensed view of some of the rules 
given on this subject, by this ingenious practical philosopher, and 
which are founded on the principles of science, and on numer- 
ous experiments : — 1. The throat of the chimney should be per- 
pendicularly over the fire ; as the smoke and hot vapour which 
rise from a fire naturally tend upwards. By the throat of a chim- 
ney is meant the lower extremity of its canal, where it unites with 
the upper part of its open fireplace. 2. The nearer the throat of 
a chimney is to the fire the stronger will be its draught, and the 
less danger of its smoking ; since smoke rises in consequence of 
its rarefaction by heat, and the heat is greater nearer the fire than 
at a greater distance from it. But the draught of a chimney may 
be too strong, so as to consume the fuel too rapidly ; and, there- 
fore, a due medium must be fixed upon, according to circumstan- 
ces. 3. That four inches is the proper width to be given to the 
throat of a chimney, reckoning across from the top of the breast 
of the chimney, or the inside of the mantle to the back of the chim- 
ney ; and even in large halls, where great fires are kept up, this 
width should never be increased beyond 4| or 5 inches. 4. 
The width given to the back of the chimney should be about one- 
third of the width of the opening of the fireplace in front. In a 
room of a middling size, thirteen inches is a good size for the width 
of the back, and 3 times 13 or 39 inches for the width of the 
opening of the fireplace in front. 5. The angle made by the back 
of the fireplace and the sides of it, or covings should be 135 de- 



128 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Construction of Chimneys. 



grees, which is the best position they can have for throwing heat 
into the room. 6. The back of the chimney should always be 
built perfectly upright. 7. Where the throat of the chimney has 
an end, that is to say, where it enters into the lower part of the 
open canal of the chimney, there the three walls which form the 
two covings and the back of the fireplace should all end abruptly, 
without any slope, which will render it more difficult for any wind 
from above to force its way through the narrow passage of the 
throat of the chimney. The back and covings should rise 5 or 6 
inches higher than the breast of the chimney. 8. The current of 
air which, passing under the mantle, gets into the chimney, should 
be made gradually to bend its course upwards ; by which means 
it will unite quietly with the ascending current of smoke. This is 
effected with the greatest ease and certainty, merely by rounding 
off the breast of the chimney, or back part of the mantle, instead 
of leaving it flat or full of holes and corners. Fig. 1 shows the 
section of a chimney on the common construction, in which d e is 
the throat. Fig. 2 shows a section of the same chimnev altered 
and improved, in which d i is the reduced throat, four inches in 
the direction of d i, and thirteen inches in a line parallel to the 
mantle. 



Fig. L 



Fi<r. 2. 





Masons, bricklayers, and others, who are interested in this sub- 
ject, would do well to procure and study Count Rumford's " Es- 
say," which was originally sold for two shillings. His directions 
have seldom been accurately attended to in this country by those 
who have pretended to improve chimneys on the principles he has 



APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL KNOWLEDGE. 129 

Telescopes and Miscroscopes. 



laid down, partly from carelesness, and partly from ignorance of 
the elements of science. When the grate is not set in its proper 
place, when its sloping iron back is retained, — when no pains have 
been taken to make its ends coincide with the covings of the fire- 
place, — when the mantle, instead of having its back rounded off, 
is a vertical plane of iron, cutting a column of smoke which rises 
beneath it ; and, above all, when the throat of the chimney, instead 
of four, is made, as we often see, fourteen inches wide, — not one 
of the Count's directions has been attended to, and his principles 
have as little to do with the construction of such a chimney, as 
with the building of the dikes of Holland, or the pyramids of 
Egypt. 

A knowledge of the science of Optics, which explains the na- 
ture of vision, and the laws by which light is refracted and reflect- 
ed, is essentially requisite to the makers of telescopes, microscopes, 
and all other dioptric and catoptric instruments, in order to carry 
them forward to their highest pitch of improvement. And yet 
how often do we find many of those employed in the construction 
and manufacture of such instruments glaringly deficient in the first 
principles of optical science. One maker imitates the instru- 
ments of another without discrimination, and while he sometimes 
imitates the excellences, he as frequently copies the defects. 
Hence the glaring deficiencies in the construction of the eye- 
pieces of most of our pocket-telescopes, and the narrow field of 
view by which they are distinguished, which a slight acquaintance 
with the properties of lenses would teach them to obviate. By a 
moderate acquaintance with the principles of this science, any in- 
genious mechanic might, at a small expense, be enabled to con- 
struct for himself many of those optical instruments by which the 
beauties of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and the wonders 
of distant worlds, have been explored. 

Although, in the hands of mathematicians, the science of optics 
has assumed somewhat of a forbidding appearance to the untu- 
tored mind, by the apparently complex and intricate diagrams by 
which its doctrines have been illustrated, yet it requires only the 
knowledge of a few simple facts and principles to guide an in- 
telligent mechanic in his experiments, and in the construction of 
its instruments. In order to the construction of a refracting 
telescope, it is only requisite to know, that the rays of light 
passing through a convex-glass paint an image of any object 
directly before it, at a certain point behind it, called its focus ; 
and that this image may be viewed and magnified by another 
convex-glass, placed at a certain distance behind it. Thus, let 
CD, Fig. 1, represent a convex-glass, whose focal distance CE 



130 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Astronomical Telescope. 



is 12 inches ; let AB represent a distant object directly opposite ; 
the rays of light passing from this object, and crossing each 
other, will form an image of the object AB, at EF, in an inverted 
position. Let GH represent another convex-glass, whose focal 
distance is only one inch. If this glass is placed at one inch dis- 
tant from the image EF, or 13 inches from the glass CD, and 
the eye applied at the point S, the object AB will be seen turned 
upside down, and magnified in the proportion of 1 to 12, or twelve 

Fig. 1. 




times in length and breadth. This forms what is called an 
Astronomical telescope ; but, as every thing seen through it ap- 
pears inverted, it is not adapted for viewing terrestrial objects. 
In order to fit it for viewing land objects, two other eye-glasses, 
of the same focal distance (namely, one inch), are requisite ; the 
second eye-glass IK is placed at 2 inches from GH, or double 
their focal distance, and the glass NO at the same distance from 
IK.* By this means a second image IM is formed in an up- 
right position, which is viewed by the eye at P, through the glass 
NO, and the object appears magnified in the same proportion as 
before. The magnifying power of a telescope of this construc- 

* This is not the best form of a terrestrial eye-piece ; but it may serve for 
the purpose of illustration. The eye-piece now most generally used consists 
of four lenses, combined on a different principle. 



APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL KNOWLEDGE. 



131 



Compound Microscope. 



tion is found by dividing the focal distance of the object-glass by 
the focal distance of the eye-glass. Thus, if the object-glass be 
36 inches in focal distance, and the eye-glass 1| inch, the mag- 
nifying power will be 24 times ; if the focus of the eye-glass be 
2 inches, the magnifying power will be 18 times, &c. — LM is the 
telescope fitted up for use. 

A compound microscope might likewise be easily constructed 

Fig. 2. 




by any ingenious artisan or mechanic, by attending to the follow- 
ing illustrations and directions. Fig. 2. represents the glasses of 
a compound microscope. AB is the glass next the object ; CD 
is the amplifying glass for enlarging the field of view ; EF is the 
glass next the eye. When a small object, as GH, is placed 
below the object-glass AB, at a little more than its focal distance 
from it, a magnified image of this object is formed by the glass 
AB at GH, which is magnified in proportion as the distance GG 
exceeds the distance of AG. This magnified image of the object 



132 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



How to construct a Compound Microscope. 



is magnified a second time by the glass EF, to which the eye is 
applied at K. This instrument, when fitted up for use, is repre- 

Fig. 3. 




sented in Fig. 3, where LM represents a box or pedestal on 
which it stands, NO the stage on which the objects are placed, 
over the opening i, which is supported by three pillars fixed to 
the top of the box. P is a tube which is supported by three 
pillars fixed into the stage. Into this tube the tube R slides up and 
down for adjusting the focus. The small tube u, which carries 
the object-glass, is connected with the tube R, and slides up and 
down along with it. S is the tube which contains the two eye- 
glasses, and which may be made to slide up and down into the tube 
R, for increasing the magnifying power when occasion requires. 
T is a mirror, fixed on the pedestal, capable of moving up and down, 
and to the rijrht or left, for throwing light upon the objectplaced over 
the hole t, which may be laid upon a slip of thin glass. The ob- 
ject-glass AB, Fig. 2, is placed at w, Fig. 3. The glass CD is 
placed opposite W, Fig* 3, and the eye-glass EF opposite V. 

Such are the essential parts of a compound miscroscope. Any 
common mechanic may construct one for himself by attending to 
the following directions : — The object-glass AB, Fig. 2, may be 



APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL KNOWLEDGE. 133 



Mirrors and Lenses. 



ibout §, |, or 1 inch focal distance, and the aperture, or hole which 
lets in the light from the object, should not exceed 1-1 Oth of an 
inch, otherwise it will cause a glare, which will produce an indis- 
tinct image of the object. The amplifying glass CD may be 2| 
inches focal distance, and lj inch in diameter. This glass is 
not essen t tally necessary, but it serves to enlarge the field of view, 
and to render it more distinct near the border. The eye-glass 
EF should be about 1 inch focus, and about f inch in diameter. 
With respect to the distances at which they should be placed from 
each other, the glass CD may be placed at about 5 or 6 inches 
from AB, and the glass EF about 2 inches, or 1-J inch from CD. 
The object-glass should be a double convex — the eye-glasses may 
be plano-convex ; that is, plane on the one side and convex on the 
other, with the plane sides turned next the eye ; but double con- 
vexes will do, if these cannot be procured. The tubes which 
contain the glasses may be made of paste-board, and the stage, 
pillars, and box, of wood. The glasses may be procured for about 
4 shillings ; and if the individual fit them into the tubes, and per- 
form all the other operations requisite, the expense of all the other 
materials will not exceed other four shillings. Suppose, now, that 
the object-glass AB is \ inch focal distance, and the image GH 
is formed at the distance of 6 inches from it, this image will be 
larger than the object, nearly in the proportion of 6 to |, or 12 
times. Suppose the glass EF, considered in connexion with CD, 
to possess a magnifying power equal to 5 times ; then the whole 
magnifying power will be 5 X 1 2, or 60 times. The object, there- 
fore, will be magnified 60 times in length and in breadth, and, 
consequently, the surface will be magnified 3600 times, which 
is the square of 60. With such a microscope, the animalculoe 
in water, the circulation of the blood in frogs and fishes, the 
small feathers which compose the dust on butterflies' wings, and 
all the most interesting appearances of the minute parts of ani- 
mals and vegetables, may be distinctly perceived. 

Besides the discoveries in the heavens and in the minute parts 
of creation to which the study of the science of optics has led, its 
principles are capable of being directed to many important pur- 

, poses in human life and society. By means of large burning 
mirrors and lenses the rays of the sun have been condensed, so 
as to increase their intensity more than seventeen thousand times, 
and to produce a heat more than four hundred times greater than 
that of our common fires, which would serve for the combustion 

\ and fusion of numerous substances, which are infusible in the 
greatest heat that can be produced in our common furnaces. The 
property of a convex lens, by which rays proceeding from its focus 
12 



134 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Brewster's Polyzonal Lens. 



are refracted into parallel directions, has enabled us to throw from 
lighthouses, a strong light to great distances at sea. The large 
polyzonal, or built up lenses, contrived by Sir D. Brewster, which 
maybe made of any magnitude, and the elegant lamp of Lieuten- 
ant Drummond, — the one producing the most intense light yet 
known, and the other conveying it undispersed to great distances, 
— promise to introduce improvements hitherto unthought of, and 
to diversify the nocturnal scenery both of sea and land. For, 
in the progress of extensive national improvements, they might 
be made subservient, in connexion with carburetted hydrogen gas, 
in enlivening and decorating the rural scene in the absence of the 
sun, and in guiding the benighted traveller in all his journeyings. 
For, when we consider the improvements, in almost every depart- 
ment of the social state, which have been lately carried forward, 
it is surely not too much to expect that, in the course of a century 
hence, our highways, villages, hamlets, and even some of our moors 
and mountains, shall be lighted up with gas lamps, connected with 
mirrors and lenses, analogous to those which illuminate our cities 
and towns, and which direct the mariner, when approaching our 
shores. The following figure shows the manner in which a large 
lens throws a light to great distances. Let AB, Fig. 4, represent 
one of Sir D. Brewster's polyzonal lenses, or any other large lens, 
and GK its focal distance ; if a luminous body CK, as the flame 
of a lamp, be placed at the focal point K, the rays of light, diverging 
from CK, after passing through the lens AB, will proceed in a 
parallel direction, AE, GH, BF, and may illuminate objects at very 
considerable distances. AB, Fig. 4, represents a section of the po- 

Fig. 4. 

ft A 




B K 

1 vzonal lens built often different pieces. L, Fig. 5, exhibits a front 
view of the same lens. Could suchlensesbe constructed of the size 
of 6, 8, 10, or 12 feet diameter, they would produce a degree of heat 
from the solar rays far surpassing what has hitherto been effected, 
and be capable of throwing a brilliant light to immense distances. 



UTILITY OF ELECTRICITY AND GALVANISM. 



135 



Electricity. 



Fig. 6 shows the manner in which a concave mirror TU reflects 
the light of a lamp VW, placed in its focus, to great distances. 
It is in this way that the light of the Bell Rock, and other light- 
houses, is reflected to more than thirty or forty miles distant. 

Fig. 5. 




Even the sciences of electricity and galvanism might, in some 
instances, be rendered subservient to the operations of art. By 
means of the electrical fluid, models of corn-mills, water-pumps, 
and orreries, showing the diurnal motion of the earth, and the 
age and phases of the moon, have been set in motion ; and there 
can be no question, that, in the hands of genius, it might be 
directed to accomplish much more important effects. Even the 
lightning of the clouds, which is only the electrical fluid acting 
on an ample scale, has been guided by the hand of art to perform 
mechanical operations, by splitting large stones into shivers. 
This has been effected in the following manner : Suppose AB 



136 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Electrical Experiment. 



to represent a stone or portion of a rock, which is intended to be 
split into a number of pieces. Into the midst of this stone a long 
rod of iron, or conductor, CD, is inserted, which terminates in a 
point. When a thunder-cloud, as EF, passes over the stone, 
within its striking distance of the earth, the lightning from the 




cloud strikes the upper part of the pointed conductor, and is con- 
ducted downwards to the heart of the stone, which either rends 
it in different places, or splits it at once into a multitude of frag- 
ments. This experiment, which appears to have been first made 
in Prussia, in 1811, was attended with complete success, during 
the first storm that passed over after the bar of iron was inserted 
in the stone. 

To brasiers, tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and other workers in me- 
tals, a knowledge of galvanism might suggest a variety of useful 
hints, especially where it is an object of importance to secure any 
piece of metallic workmanship from rust. It is found that when 
metals are pure and kept separate from each other, they remain for a 
long time untarnished ; but when alloyed, or placed in contact with 



PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF MAGNETISM. 137 



Utility of Magnetism. 



other metals, they soon undergo oxidation. Coins composed of 
one metal are found more durable than those composed of two ; 
and the copper sheathing of ships which is fastened with iron nails 
soon undergoes corrosion. These effects are now explained on 
the principFes of galvanism. When two metallic substances of 
different kinds are connected by moisture, they form what is call- 
ed a galvanic circle ; and, therefore, when one kind of metal is 
placed in contact with another, if either water or the moisture of 
the atmosphere adheres to them, a galvanic circle is formed, and 
oxidation is produced. On this ground the late Sir Humphrey 
Davy suggested the propriety of fastening the upper sheathing of 
ships with copper instead of iron nails. The same principle may 
be rendered of extensive application, and may afford many useful 
hints to every artisan employed in working and combining metals. 
A knowledge of magnetism might also, in many cases, be di- 
rected to useful practical applications. This mysterious power, 
in connexion with its polarity, has already enabled the miner and 
surveyor to traverse the remotest corners of the largest mines, and 
to trace their w T ay back in safety through all the windings of those 
.subterraneous apartments, and has directed the navigator to steer 
his course with certainty, through the pathless ocean, to his " de- 
sired haven." Throughout all the regions of the globe the mag- 
netic power extends its influence ; and it is now found to have an 
intimate connexion with heat, electricity, and galvanism. Of late 
years, it has been ascertained that iron with its oxides and alloys are 
not the only substances susceptible of magnetic influence. The 
magnetism 01 nickel, though inferior to that of iron* is found to be 
considerable ; and that of cobalt and titanium is quite perceptible. 
Nay, the recent discoveries of Arago have shown, " that there is 
no substance but which, under proper circumstances, is capable 
of exhibiting unequivocal signs of the magnetic virtue." In con- 
sequence of a recent discovery of JVL. Oersted, " we are now ena- 
bled to communicate, at and during pleasure, to a coiled wire, of 
any metal indifferently, all the properties of a magnet — its attrac- 
tion, repulsion, and polarity, and that even in a more intense de- 
gree than was previously thought to be possible in the best natu- 
ral magnets." This discovery tends to enlarge our views of the 
range of magnetic influence, and to lead us to the conclusion that 
its powers may hereafter be applied to purposes of which at present 
we can have no conception. Although the polarity of the mag- 
net has been of incalculable service to mankind, particularly in 
promoting navigation and enlarging our knowledge of the globe, 
yet we have no reason to believe that this is the only practical pur- 
pose to which its powers may be applied, or the only reason why 
12* 



138 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Utility of Magnetism. 



the Creator has so widely diffused its influence in the system of 
nature ; since, in his diversified operations in the material world, 
he so frequently produces a variety of effects from one and the 
same cause. It remains with man to prosecute his observations 
still more extensively on this subject, and his industry will, doubt- 
less, be rewarded with the discovery of new relations, laws, and 
combinations, which may be susceptible of the most important 
practical applications in the arts which minister to the comfort and 
convenience of mankind. Even in its present state, the attrac- 
tive property of magnetism is capable of being applied as a me- 
chanical power, in certain pieces of machinery, although its appli- 
cation in this way has never yet been attempted on an extensive 
scale. 

The following fact shows how its attractive power has lately 
been applied for the prolongation of life, and the warding off of in- 
curable disease, in the case of a useful class of our fellow-men. 
" In needle manufactories the workmen who point the needles- 
are constantly exposed to excessively minute particles of steel 
which fly from the grindstones, and mix, though imperceptible to 
the eye, as the finest dust in the air, and are inhaled with their 
breath. The effect, though imperceptible on a short exposure, 
yet being constantly repeated from day to day, produces a consti- 
tutional irritation, dependant on the tonic properties of the steel, 
which is sure to terminate in pulmonary consumption ; insomuch, 
that persons employed in this kind of work used scarcely ever to 
attain the age of forty years. In vain was it attempted to purify 
the air, before its entry into the lungs, by gauzes or linen guards ; 
the dust was too fine and penetrating to be obstructed by such 
coarse expedients, till some ingenious person bethought him of 
that wonderful power which every child that searches for its mo- 
ther's needle with a magnet, sees in exercise. Masks of magne- 
tized steel wire are now constructed and adapted to the faces of 
the workmen. By these the air is not merely strained but searched 
in its passage through them, and each obnoxious atom arrested 
and removed.'** 

This interesting fact affords a striking proof of the useful pur- 
poses to which the powers and properties of natural substances 
may be applied, when the mind is directed to contemplate them in 
all their bearings, and to trace them to all their legitimate conse- 
quences. The attractive power of the magnet, considered not 
only in its relation to iron and steel, but to all other substances in 
which magnetical virtue is found in a greater or less degree to re- 

M - 

* Herschel's Prelim. Dis. on Nat. Philos. 



UTILITY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 139 

Science of Geology. 

side, might, therefore, in the hands of an ingenious mechanic, lead 
to many interesting experiments which might pave the way for 
the most important practical results. 

The facts connected with the science of geology may likewise, 
in many instances, be directed to practical purposes. From the 
researches which, of late years, have been made in the interior of 
the earth, geologists are now pretty well acquainted with the posi- 
tion and alternation of its strata, and with the different fossils which 
may be expected to abound in any particular district. Although 
these researches were undertaken chiefly with a view to ascertain 
the changes which have happened in the structure of our globe, 
and to support certain theories of the earth, yet they may frequent- 
ly be of use to landed proprietors, to engineers, and to specula- 
tors in mining operations, so as to direct them in their investiga- 
tions, and prevent them from embarking in schemes that may 
ultimately blast their expectations, exhaust their resources, and 
lead to irretrievable ruin. The ruinous effects sometimes pro- 
duced by ignorance of this subject are strikingly illustrated by the 
following fact : — 

" It is not many years since an attempt was made to establish 
a colliery at Bexhill, in Sussex. The appearance of thin seams 
and sheets of fossil wood and wood-coal, with some other indi- 
cations similar to what occur in the neighbourhood of the great 
coal-beds in the north of England, having led to the sinking of a 
shaft, and the erection of machinery on a scale of vast extent, 
not less than eight thousand pounds are said to have been laid out 
on this project ; which, it is almost needless to add, proved com- 
pletely abortive, as every geologist would have at once declared 
it must, the whole assemblage of geological facts being adverse 
to the existence of a regular coal-bed in the Hastings' sand; 
while tbjis on which Bexhill is situated is separated from the coal 
strata by a series of interposed beds of such enormous thickness 
as to render all idea of penetrating through them absurd. The 
history of mining speculations is full of similar cases, where a 
very moderate acquaintance with the usual order of nature, to 
say nothing of theoretical views, would have saved many a san- 
guine adventurer from utter ruin."* 

The study of the various branches of JYatural History might 
also be rendered productive of utility in different departments of 
the arts. It is quite evident that a scientific knowledge of Botany 
must be highly useful to gardeners and their labourers, and to all 
who take an interest in horticultural and rural operations. Not 

* Herschel's Discourse, &c. 



140 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Introduction of Navigation by Steam. 



only a knowledge of the classification and arrangement of plants, 
but also of their physiological structure and functions, of their 
medicinal qualities, and of the chemical properties of soils and 
the different manures, will be found of considerable utility to such 
individuals. Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, which describe 
the peculiar structure and habits of animals, both foreign and 
domestic, will convey various portions of interesting information 
to shepherds, cattle-dealers, and agriculturists of every descrip- 
tion. An acquaintance with Mineralogy, which treats of the solid 
and inanimate materials of our globe, — the earthy, saline, inflam- 
mable, and metallic substances of which it is composed, must be 
interesting to lapidaries, jewellers, iron-founders, and all who are 
employed in working various metals. To know the nature of 
those substances on which they are operating, the materials with 
which they are united in their native ores, their combination with 
phosphorus, sulphur, and carbon, the changes produced upon them 
by oxygen and the different acids, their relations to heat, and the 
liquids with which they may come in contact, and the various 
compounds into which they may be formed, will have a direct 
tendency, not only to increase their stock of general knowledge, 
but to render them more skilful and intelligent in their respective 
professions. Meteorology, which treats of the weather and the 
variable phenomena of the atmosphere, will, in many instances* 
be found a useful study to mariners, fishermen, travellers, and 
farmers, by which they may frequently be directed in their move- 
ments, and avoid many inconveniences and dangers. By care- 
fully attending to the motions of the barometer and therrriometer, 
and comparing them with the electrical state of the atmosphere, 
the direction of the winds, and the appearances of the clouds, the 
farmer may be warned of the continuance of rain or drought, and 
direct his operations accordingly, so as to protect his produce 
from danger. 

There is no application of science to the arts of more import- 
ance, and more extensive in its effects, than that of the employ- 
ment of steam for driving all kinds of machinery, and for propelling 
vessels along rivers and across the ocean. " It has armed," says 
Mr. Jeffrey, " the feeble hand of man with a power to which no 
limits can be assigned — completed the dominion of mind over the 
most refractory qualities of matter, and laid a sure foundation for 
all those future miracles of mechanic power which are to aid and 
reward the labours of after generations." The first person who 
appears to have entertained the idea of employing steam for pro- 
pelling vessels, was Mr. J. Hulls, in the year 1736. But it was 
not till 1807, when Mr. Fulton launched, at New- York, the first 



GENERAL UTILITY OF SCIENCE. 141 



Carburetted Hydrogen Gas. 



steamboat he had constructed, that navigation by steam was intro- 
duced to general practice, which may therefore be considered as 
the epoch of the invention. In a few years every river and bay 
in the United States became the scene of steam navigation. In 
1822 there were more than 350 steam vessels connected with 
these States, some of them eight and nine hundred tons burden, 
and by this time, doubtless, they are more than doubled. In IS 19 
an expedition left Pittsburg, descended the Ohio in steamboats for 
1100 miles, and then, ascending the rapid Missouri, proceeded to 
the distance of no less than 2500 miles. They have now been 
introduced into every country in Europe. On the principal rivers 
and seas connected with the British isles, and even in the Scottish 
lakes, these vessels are sweeping along in majestic pomp, against 
wind and tide, diversifying the scenery through which they pass, 
and transporting travellers and parties of pleasure to their desti- 
nation, with a rapidity unexampled in former ages. On the Clyde 
alone more than fifty or sixty steam-vessels are constantly plying. 
The scenery of the Rhine, the Rhone, the Elbe, the Seine, the 
Danube, the Wolga, the lakes of Constance and Geneva, and 
of many other rivers and inland seas, is now enlivened by these 
powerful machines, conveying goods and passengers in every 
direction. Even the Atlantic Ocean, an extent of more than 
3000 miles, has been traversed by a steamboat m twenty days ; 
and the period, we trust, is not far distant, when the Red Sea, the 
Persian Gulf, the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, the Medi- 
terranean, the Euxine, the Gulf of Mexico, and even the wide 
Pacific, will be traversed by these rapid vehicles, conveying 
riches, liberty, religion, and intelligence to the islands of the 
ocean, and forming a bond of union among all nations. 

The admirable improvements in the construction of sleam-car- 
riages which are now going forward are no less worthy of atten- 
tion. The rapid movements of these machines, which have been 
lately introduced on the Liverpool and Manchester railway, and 
the security and comfort with which they are attended, have ex- 
cited the astonishment of every beholder. And no wonder, — 
since goods and passengers are now conveyed between these 
cities with a velocity of nearly thirty miles an hour ! so that it 
may be said, with the strictest propriety, that the steam-engine is 
the most brilliant present ever made by philosophy to mankind. 

The discovery of carburetled hydrogen gas, and its applica- 
tion to the purpose of illuminating our dwelling-houses, streets, 
and manufactories, may also be considered in reference to the 
arts. Every city, and every town of a moderate size, is now en- 
livened with the splendid brilliancy produced from this invisible 



142 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Benefits of Scientific Knowledge. 



substance ; pipes for its conveyance have been laid, of many 
hundred miles in extent, and diverging into numerous ramifica- 
tions, and thousands of artists are employed in conducting its ma- 
nufacture, and forming tubes and other devices for distributing it 
in all directions. 

Now, since the inventions to which I am adverting are found. > 
on chemical and mechanical principles, and on the discoveries 
modern science, and since many thousands of mechanics are now 
employed in constructing the machinery connected with these 
inventions, and in conducting its operations both by sea and 
land, it is of the utmost importance, in order to their being fully 
qualified for their respective departments, that they understand 
the scientific principles which enter into the construction of such 
machines and engines, the peculiar uses of every part, the man- 
ner in which the chemical agents employed operate, and the ef- 
fects which, in any given circumstance, they must necessarily 
produce. In particular, it is indispensably necessary, that en- 
gine-men, and others employed for directing these machines when 
in operation, should be acquainted with every part of their struc- 
ture, and the principles on which their movements depend : for 
the comfort and safety of the public are dependant on the caution 
and skill with which they are conducted. How could any man 
be qualified for such an office without some portion of scientific 
knowledge ? and how could travellers in such vehicles consider 
their lives and property secure, if they were not guided by men of 
intelligence and prudence 1 To the want of such caution and 
skill are chiefly to be attributed most of the disasters and fatal 
accidents, connected with such operations, which have hitherto 
taken place. 

Besides the agriculturists, manufacturers, mechanics, and arti- 
ficers alluded to above, there are numerous other classes to 
which similar remarks will apply. In short, there is scarcely an 
individual, however obscure, in any department of society, but 
may derive practical benefit from an acquaintance with science. 
" The farm servant or day labourer," says Lord Brougham, 
" whether in his master's employ or tending the concerns of his 
own cottage, must derive great practical benefit, — must be both a 
better servant, and a more thrifty and, therefore, comfortable cot- 
tager, for knowing something of the nature of soils and manures, 
which chemistry teaches, and something of the habits of animals, 
and the qualities and growth of plants, which he learns from na- 
tural history and chemistry together. In truth, though a man is 
neither a mechanic nor a peasant, but only one having a pot to 
boil, he is sure to learn from science lessons which will enable 



GENERAL UTILITY OF SCIENCE. 143 

Benefits of Scientific Knowledge. 



him to cook his morsel better, save his fuel, and both vary his 
dish and improve it. The art of good and cheap cookery is inti- 
mately connected with the principles of chemical philosophy, and 
'has received much, and will yet receive more, improvement from 
r *heir application." Nay, even the kitchen maid, the laundry 
9 nid, and the mistress of every family, may derive many useful 
nts from the researches of science. The whole art of cookery 
is a chemical operation, and so are the arts of washing, dressing, 
bleaching, and dyeing. By a knowledge of the nature and pro- 
perties of the acids and other chemical substances, they would 
learn how to eradicate stains of ink, grease, &c. from cotton, 
linen, woollen, and silks, in the safest and most effectual maimer, 
and many other processes of great utility in domestic life. Even 
the art of kindling a fire, and of stirring it when kindled, depends 
on philosophical principles. For example, the stirring of a fire is 
of use, because it makes a hollow, where the air being rarefied by 
the adjacent heat, the surrounding air rushes into the partial va- 
cuum, and imparting its oxygen, gives life to the fire, and carries 
the flame along with it. On this principle the following rules 
are founded : — 1. Never stir a fire when fresh coals are laid on, 
particularly when they are very small, because they immediately 
fall into' the vacuum, and prevent the access of the oxygen of the 
atmosphere, which is the principle of combustion. 2. Always 
keep the bottom bar clear, because it is there chiefly that the air 
rushes in to nourish the fuel. 3. Never begin to stir at top, 
unless when the bottom is quite clear, and the top only wants 
breaking, otherwise the unkindled fuel may be pressed down in a 
body to the bottom, and the access of atmospheric air prevented. 

Illustrations, of a similar kind, of the practical applications of 
science, might have been given to an almost indefinite extent ; but 
the above specimens may suffice as corroborative of the general 
position — that scientific knowledge would render mechanics and 
manufacturers of all descriptions more skilful in the prosecution 
of their respective employments. 

Some, however, may be disposed to insinuate, that it is quite 
enough for philosophers to ascertain principles, and to lay down 
rules founded upon them, for the direction of the mechanic or 
artisan ; or, that it is only requisite that the directors and super- 
intendents of chemical processes and mechanical operations 
should be acquainted with that portion of science which is neces- 
sary for their peculiar departments. But it is easy to perceive 
that a mechanic who works merely by rules, without knowing the 
foundation or reasons of them, is only like a child who repeats his 
catech : m by rote, without attaching a single idea to the words he 



144 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Advantages of Chemical Knowledge. 



utters, or like a horse driving a thrashing-machine, without 
deviating from the narrow circle to which he is necessarily con- 
fined. When any accident occurs, when the circumstances of 
the case are somewhat changed, when the same principle on which 
he generally proceeds requires to be applied to a new object or 
mode of operation, he either blunders his work or feels himself 
utterly at a loss how to proceed. The least deviation from his 
accustomed trammels puts him out, because he has no clear and 
comprehensive view of the principles on which his practice 
depends. Hence we uniformly find that a man of scientific 
acquirements will easily comprehend the plan of any new machine 
or architectural operation, and be able to execute it, while he who 
works only by square and rule will hesitate at every step, and 
perceive innumerable difficulties in his way. To confine artists 
to mere rules, without a knowledge of the principles on which they 
are founded, is to degrade their intellectual nature, to reduce them 
to something like mere machines, to render them less useful both 
to themselves and to their employers, and to prevent the improve- 
ment of the liberal and mechanical arts. 

The following instance may be stated as a specimen of the 
advantages of chemical knowledge, and of the practical purposes 
to which it may be applied in different regions of the globe. — A 
young Parisian of the name of Leger went on a commercial ad- 
venture to Egypt in the year 1822 ; but during some of the con- 
vulsions of that unsettled country, he lost the little property with 
which he was intrusted, and was forced to make a precipitate re- 
treat from Suez to Alexandria. He remained sometime at Alex- 
andria, destitute and almost hopeless. But the talent of obser- 
vation, and the social habits characteristic of his countrymen, 
came to his aid : in a lucky moment he formed the resolution of 
retrieving his fortune by introducing the luxury of ice into the 
parched land of the Ptolemys. This common product of wintry 
regions is known to be as grateful to the languid natives of tropical 
climates as ardent spirits are to the benumbed inhabitants of the 
Polar Circle. Having succeeded in effecting a return to his 
family, the enterprising Parisian was enabled by the friendly 
assistance of Gay Lussac and Thenard, to adopt the best means 
that chemistry could devise for the preservation of ice, both 
during the voyage, and after its arrival in a sultry latitude ; and at 
length set out from Paris with his inventions, and arrived safely 
at Alexandria, in April, 1823. The sovereign of Egypt, Mo- 
hammed Ali, was delighted at this novel addition to oriental 
luxuries ; and, besides valuable presents, gave the inventor the 
exclusive right for five years of importing ice into his dominions. 



INVENTIONS OF THE ARTS. 145 

Discoveries by Chance. 

This privilege is estimated to be worth one million of francs, or 
nearly 50,000/. In ancient times the world was enlightened by the 
learning of Egypt ; the greatest philosophers travelled thither, as 
to the fountain-head of science : but the land of Sesostres and 
Alexander has now become the prey of the ferocious Moslem ; 
and whatever she enjoys of art, knowledge, or civilization, she is 
compelled to receive from the once barbarous regions of the 
West.* 

II. Scientific knowledge will not only render persons more 
skilful in their respective employments, but will enable them to 
make improvements in the arts, and in the 'physical sciences ivith 
which they are connected. 

It has frequently been affirmed, that many useful inventions 
have been owing to chance, and that persons ignorant of science 
have stumbled upon them without any previous investigation. It 
is not denied that several inventions have originated in this way, 
but they are much fewer than is generally imagined ; and, in almost 
every 7 instance, where chance suggested the first hint of any inven- 
tion, the future improvements were directed by the hand of genius 
and the aids of science. It is said that the invention of the telescope 
was owing to a spectacle-maker's boy having accidentally taken up 
two convex glasses of different focal distances, and placed the 
one near his eye and the other at a considerable distance, when 
he perceived, on looking through them, the spire of a neighbour- 
ing church turned upside down, and much larger than its usual size. 
The father of the boy, amazed at this singular appearance, be- 
thought himself of adjusting two glasses on a board, supporting 
them in two brass or wooden circles, which might be removed 
nearer to or farther from each other at pleasure, as in the follow- 
ing figure, where A represents the object, B the lens next the ob- 
ject, a the inverted image formed by it, C the glass next the eye, 
and D the sliding board on which it was fixed, for adjusting the 
focus. Such appears to have been the first rude construction of 
the telescope. But so long as the invention remained in this 
state it was of little benefit to society. It was not before Galileo, 
a philosopher of Tuscany, heard of the circumstance, and entered 
into investigations on the refraction of light and the properties of 
lenses, that this noble instrument was improved and directed to 
the heavens for the purpose of making astronomical discoveries ; 
and all the subsequent improvements it has received have been the 
result of reasonings, and experimental investigations, conducted 
;by men of science. Sir Isaac Newton, in consequence of his ex- 

* Scots Mechan. Mag. 1825. 
13 



146 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



First Construction of the Telescope. 



Fig. 24. 




periments and discoveries respecting light and colours, detected 
the true cause of the imperfection of the common refracting tele- 
scope, and suggested the substitution of metalline specula instead 
of lenses, which led him to the invention of the reflecting telescope ; 
and Mr. Dollond, in consequence of his investigations and experi- 
ments respecting the different degrees of refraction and divergency 
of colour produced by different kinds of glass, effected the greatest 
improvement that had ever been made on the refracting tele- 
scope, by producing an image free of the imperfections caused by 
the blending of the prismatic colours. And we have reason to 
believe, that the further improvement of this telescope will chiefly 
depend on ascertaining the true chemical composition of flint- 
glass for achromatic purposes, and the proper mode of conduct- 
ing its manufacture, which may lead to the construction of instru- 
ments of this kind on a more extensive scale than has ever yet 
been attempted, and to discoveries in the celestial regions far be- 
yond those which have hitherto been made. But such improve- 
ments can never be effected, unless by numerous experimental 
investigations, conducted by those whose minds are thoroughly 
imbued with the principles of chemical and optical science.* 



* One of the latest improvements on achromatic object-glasses was made 
by a foreigner of the name of Guinand, who was originally a cabinet-maker. 
After acquiring a knowledge of the principles of optics, and of the mode of 
constructing telescopes, he applied himself particularly to ascertain the pro- 
per composition of flint-glass for achromatic purposes ; and, after spending 
twenty or thirty years in making experiments — casting one pot of glass after 
another, and meeting with frequent disappointments, — heat length succeeded 
in obtaining glass for achromatic telescopes, of larger dimensions and of a 
quality superior to what could formerly be procured. Of this glass was 



INVENTIONS IN THE ARTS, 



147 



Achromatic Object-Glass. 



With regard to the invention and improvement of the steam- 
engine— a. story has been told " that an idle boy being employed 
to stop and open a valve, saw that he could save himself the 
trouble of attending and watching it, by fixing a plug upon a part 
of the machine which came to the place at the proper times, in 
consequence of the general movement." Whether or not this 
story has any foundation in truth — certain it is, that all the most 

formed the largest triple achromatic telescope ever constructed, which was 
lately erected in the observatory of the university at Dorpat, under the di- 
rectum of M. Fraunhofer. This glass is perfectly free from veins, and has a 
greater dispersive power than any obtained before. The diameter of this object- 
glass is almost ten inches, and its focal distance fifteen feet. It has four 
eye-pieces, the lowest magnifying 175 times, and the highest 700 times. Mr. 
Tulley of Islington lately constructed, of similar materials, manufactured by 
the same artist, a telescope whose object-glass is about seven inches diameter, 
and its focal length twelve feet, which is now in the possession of Dr. Pear- 
son. The piece of flint-glass of which the concave lens was formed cost Mr. 
Tulley about thirty guineas. Unfortunately for science, the ingenious 
artist (Guin and) is now dead, and it is uncertain whether he has left any par- 
ticular details of his process behind him. The possibility, however, of pro- 
curing glass for the construction of very large achromatic telescopes is now 
put beyond a doubt. 

The unscientific reader may acquire a general idea of an achromatic object- 
glass from the following figure, — where AD represents a double unequally 

Wise. 25. 




convex lens of crown-glass, CB a double concave of 'flint-glass, and EF another 
convex lens of crown-glass. These are placed together in the manner repre- 
sented in the figure, and form what is called an achromatic object-glass, — the 
term achromatic signifying free of colour. Sometimes only two lenses, a con- 
vex of crown, and a concave of flint-glass, are combined for the same purpose. 
In the case of a single convex glass, the image formed is blended with the 
prismatic colours, which come to foci at different distances from the lens, and 
consequently produce a comparatively indistinct image, which will not admit of 
a high magnifying power. But the achromatic lens, forming an image with- 
out colour, will bear a larger aperture, and a higher magnifying power, than 
a common refractor of the same length. So great is the difference — that an 
achromatic telescope of Dollond, only three feet ten inches in length, was 
found to equal, and even excel, the famous aerial telescope of Huygens of 123 
feet focal length, and the gentlemen present at the trial agreed that " the 
dwarf was fairly a match for the giant." The principal obstacle to their con- 
struction on a large scale is, the difficulty of procuring large pieces of flint- 
glass free of veins, and of a proper dispersive quality. 



14S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



The Mariner's Compass. 



useful improvements in this engine have been the result of the 
most elaborate researches and investigations of scientific truths. 
The first distinct notion of the structure and operation of this 
powerful machine appears to have been given by the Marquis of 
Worcester, in 1663, in his " Century of Inventions." Its subse- 
quent improvements by Savary, Blackey, Newcomen, Beighton, 
and Fitzgerald were the results of physical knowledge, of mecha- 
nical skill, and of the most laborious investigations. Its latest 
and most important improvements by Mr. James Watt were owing 
no less to the scientific knowledge which adorned his mind, than 
to his mechanical ingenuity. He was a man of a truly philoso- 
phical mind, eminently conversant in all branches of natural 
knowledge, and the pupil and intimate friend of Dr. Black, and 
had attended the lectures of that distinguished philosopher in the 
university of Glasgow. And he often acknowledged " that his 
first ideas on this subject were acquired by his attendance on Dr. 
Black's chemical lectures, and from the consideration of his 
theory of latent heat, and the expansibility of steam." We may 
therefore rest assured, that all the future improvements and new 
applications of this noble invention will be the result of physical 
and chemical knowledge combined with mechanical skill ; and, 
consequently, no artisan can ever expect to be instrumental in 
bringing the steam-engine to its highest pitch of improvement, 
and in directing its energies to all the purposes to which they may 
be applied, unless the pursuits of science occupy a considerable 
share of his attention. 

The first hint of the Mariner's compass is generally supposed 
to have been owing to chance. Some persons may have acci- 
dentally observed, that when a small loadstone is suspended in 
water on a piece of wood or cork, its ends pointed towards the 
south and north. Such experiments seem to have been applied 
at first for mere amusement, and to excite astonishment in the 
minds of the ignorant and illiterate. But it was not till some 
genius possessed of science and of reflecting powers seized the 
hint thus given, that it was applied to the important purpose of 
directing the mariner in his course through the pathless ocean. 
And to science we are indebted for the manner of determining 
the declination of the needle, in all parts of the world, by means 
of the azimuth compass, and thus rendering it an accurate guide 
to the navigator in every region through which he moves. The 
discovery of that peculiar principle termed galvanism was partly 
owing to accident. Whilst Galvani, professor of anatomy at Bo- 
logno, was one day employed in dissecting a frog, in a room 
where some of his friends were amusing themselves with electri- 



ORIGIN OF USEFUL INVENTIONS. 149 



Improvements in the Arts. 



cal experiments, one of them having happened to draw a spark 
from the conductor, at the same time that the professor touched 
one of the nerves of the animal, its whole body was instantly 
shaken by a violent convulsion. Having afterwards suspended 
some frogs from the iron palisades which surrounded his garden, 
by means of metallic hooks fixed in the spines of their backs, he 
observed that their muscles contracted frequently and involun- 

: tarily, as if from a shock of electricity. Such facts, presented to 
the view of unscientific persons, might have produced nothing 

i more than a gaze of wonder ; perhaps supernatural powers might 

- have been resorted to in order to account for the phenomena, and 
I in a short time they might have been forgotten as a vision of the 
I night. But such scientific minds as those of Valli, Volta, Monro, 

Fowler, Davy, Humboldt, and Wollaston, having seized upon 
these facts, having contemplated them in every point of view, and 
instituted experiments of every description in relation to them— 

- most astonishing discoveries in science have been brought to 
light — the whole aspect of chemistry has been changed, and 
numerous improvements introduced into the practice of the use- 
ful arts. Alkalis have been decomposed, new metallic substances 
discovered, the cause of the corrosion of metals ascertained, and 
the means determined by which it may be effectually prevented. 

It is a truth which the whole history of science fully corrobo- 
rates, that very few important discoveries have been made by 
accident or by ignorant persons, whose minds were not directed 
to the particular object of research. On the other hand, we have 

I every reason to believe, that there are many facts and circum- 
stances which have passed under the inspection of untutored 

| minds, which, had they come within the range of men of science, 
would have led to many useful inventions which are yet hid in 
the womb of futurity, and which will reward the industry of more 

j enlightened generations. The inventions to which we have now 
adverted, and many others, where chance suggested the first rude 
hints, would, in all probability, have lain for ages in obscurity, 
without any real utility to mankind, had not the genius of science 

; seized upon them, viewed them in all their bearings, and traced 
them to all their legitimate consequences and results. Had the 
telescope, the steam-engine, and the mariner's compass, in their 
first embryo state, remained solely in the hands of ignorant empi- 
rics, they might have been reserved merely as playthings, for the 
purpose of vulgar amusement, or exhibited by cunning impostors 
to aid their deceptions, or to produce a belief of their supernatural 
powers. But science snatched them from the hands of the igno- 
rant and the designing, and having added the requisite improve- 
13* 



1 



150 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Improvements in the Arts. 



ments, bequeathed them to mankind as the means of future 
advancement in the paths of knowledge, and in the practice of 
the arts. 

It may be laid down as a kind of axiom, to which few excep- 
tions will occur, that great discoveries in science and improve- 
ments in art are never to be expected but as the result of knowledge 
combined with unwearied investigation. This axiom might be 
illustrated, were it necessary, from what we know of the past 
history of our most useful inventions. The celebrated M. 
Huygens — who first discovered the means of rendering clocks 
exact by applying the pendulum, and rendering all its vibrations 
equal by the cycloid — was one of the fivst mathematicians and 
astronomers of his age. He had long kept the object of his pur- 
suit before his mind, he plied his mechanical ingenuity in adapting 
the machinery of a clock to the maintaining of the vibrations of a 
pendulum, and by his mathematical knowledge investigated the 
theory of its motion. By the aid of a new department of geome- 
trical science, invented by himself, he showed how to make a 
pendulum swing in a cycloid, and that its vibrations in this curve 
are all performed in equal times, whatever be their extent. The 
ingenious Mr. Robert Hooke who was the inventor of spring or 
pocket watches, and of several astronomical instruments for 
making observations both at sea and land — was eminently dis- 
tinguished for his philosophical and mathematical acquirements. 
From his earliest years he discovered a genius for mechanics, 
and all his other knowledge was brought to bear upon his 
numerous inventions and contrivances. Otto Guerieke, who 
invented the air-pump, was one of the first mathematicians of his 
time ; and the honourable Robert Boyle, who improved this 
valuable instrument, was one of the most illustrious philosophers 
of the age and country in which he lived. Mr. Ferguson, the 
inventor of several orreries, the astronomical rotula, the eclipsa- 
rian, the mechanical paradox, and other astronomical machinery, 
had, from his earliest years, devoted the greatest part of his time 
to the study of mechanics, and the physical and mathematical 
sciences with which it is connected, as appears from the nume- 
rous popular works which he published on these subjects which 
are still in extensive circulation. The late Mr. Arkwright, the 
inventor of the spinning jennies, devoted many years to the study 
of mechanics and to the improvement of his invention, till he was 
perfectly conversant in every thing that relates to the construc- 
tion of machinery. This admirable invention, by which a pound 
of the finest cotton has been spun by machinery into a yarn 
extending more than 119 miles, was not the result of chance, but 



ORIGIN OF USEFUL INVENTIONS. 151 

The Safety-Lamp. 

of the most unwearied study and attention in regard to every cir- 
cumstance which had a bearing on the object of his pursuit : and 
as he had not originally received any thing like a regular scien- 
tific education, his acquirements were the result of his own appli- 
cation and industry. " The new process of refining sugar, by 
which more money has been made in a shorter time, and with 
less risk and trouble, than was ever perhaps gained from an 
invention, was discovered by an accomplished chemist, E. 
Howard, brother of the Duke of Norfolk, and was the fruit of a 
long course of experiments, in the progress of which known phi- 
losophical principles were constantly applied, and one or two new 
principles ascertained." 

There are few inventions of modern times that have been more 
directly the result of philosophical knowledge and experiment than 
the safety-lamp, invented by that accomplished chemist, the late 
Sir Humphrey Davy. He instituted a series of philosophical 
experiments, with the express purpose of constructing, if possible, 
a lamp by which the miner might walk through a body of fire- 
damp in his subterraneous apartments without danger of an 
explosion ; and the success with which his investigations were 
attended led to one of the most beautiful and useful inventions 
which distinguish the period in which we live.* Had this inge- 
nious philosopher been ignorant of the nature and properties of 
carburetted hydrogen gas, of the composition of atmospheric air, 
of the nature of combustion, and of the general principles of 
chemical science, he could never have hit upon the construction 
of this admirable instrument, and the useful miner would still 
have been left to grapple with his invisible enemy (the fire- 
damp) without any means of escaping from its destructive 
agency. | 

* See Appendix, No. IX. 

f It is more than probable, that fatal accidents have occurred in coal-mines 
where these lamps have been used, owing to the ignorance and inattention of 
some of those artists who have been employed in forming the wire-gauze 
with which they are surrounded. A friend of mine, who performed a great 
variety of experiments with this instrument, with every combination of explo- 
sive gas, informed me, that, with a lamp surrounded with wire-gauze, man- 
ufactured by an artist in a town in the north of England, and 10I10 supplied it 
for the use of the miners — an explosion uniformly took place when the instru- 
ment was placed in a body of inflammable gas. He suspected that the aper- 
tures in the wire- gauze were too large, and remonstrated with the artist on 
his want of accuracy ; and it was not before he procured gauze with smaller 
apertures, that his experiments succeeded : and they were attended with 
complete success in every future experiment after the gauze was changed. 
So small was the difference in the contexture of the two pieces of the gauze, 
that, to a common eye, it was scarcely perceptible. It is found by experi- 
ment, that the apertures in the gauze should not exceed one- twentieth of an 



152 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Improvements in the Arts. 



We may farther remark, that the mechanic whose mind is enlight- 
ened with scientific knowledge hasamuch greater chance of being 
instrumented in improving the arts than the mere chemist or phi- 
losopher. While the mere philosopher is demonstrating principles 
and forming theories in his closet, and sometimes performing ex- 
periments, only on a small scale, — the workman, in certain manu- 
factories, has a daily opportunity of contemplating chemical pro- 
cesses and mechanical operations on an extensive scale, and of 
perceiving numberless modifications and contrivances, which re- 
quire to be attended to, of which the mere scientific speculator 
can form but a very faint and inadequate conception. Being 
familiar with the most minute details of every process and opera- 
tion, he can perceive redundancies and defects imperceptible to 
other observers; and, if he has an accurate knowledge of the 
general principles on which his operations depend, he must be best 
qualified for suggesting and Contriving the requisite improvements. 
As the mechanic is constantly handling the tools and materials 
with which new experiments and improvements may be made, — 

inch square, and that wire from one-fortieth to one-sixtieth of an inch diame- 
ter is the most convenient. Had the artist alluded to known how to perform 
experiments with this instrument, and tried the effects of his gauze before he 
sold it for the purpose intended, such serious blunders would not have been 
committed. Who knows but the deficiency in the gauze alluded to might 
have been the cause of the destruction of several lives in the pits where it was 
used? for it is a certain fact that accidents from explosions are occasionally 
recurring, even in mines where these lamps are generally in use. Hence the 
necessity of chemical knowledge and attention to scientific accuracy in those 
who are the manufacturers of instruments of this description — on the accurate 
construction of which the lives and comforts of a useful body of the commu- 
nity may depend. I know not whether it be customary to put the safety-lamp 
into the hands of the miner, without first trying its efficiency for resisting the 
effects of explosive gases. If it is not, it is a most glaring and dangerous over- 
sight ; and there can be no question, that to the neglect of this precaution are 
to be attributed many of those explosions which have taken place in the mines 
where this lamp has been introduced. Besides, such neglects have a direct 
tendency to detract from the merits of this noble invention, to prevent its uni- 
versal adoption, and to render uncertain its efficiency for warding off destruc- 
tive explosions. But from the experiments alluded to above, which were 
performed with the greatest care, and with every possible combination of 
explosive gas, and frequently exhibited in private, and before large public 
audiences — the efficiency of this lamp for resisting the effects of fire-damp is 
put beyond the shadow of a doubt. It is known to be the practice of some 
miners occasionally to screw off the top of their lamp, in order to enjoy the 
benefit of more light than what shines through the wire-gauze. Such a prac- 
tice ought to be strictly prohibited, and the instrument, if possible, rendered 
incapable of being opened at top — a practice which may probably have been 
the occasion of several explosions. If the workmen in mines were carefully 
instructed in the general principles of chemistry, and particularly in the 
nature of combustion, explosions, and the qualities of the different gases, they 
would not dare to hazard such dangerous experiments. 



ORIGIN OF USEFUL INVENTIONS. 153 



Improvements in the Arts. 



observing the effects of certain contrivances, and of deviations 
from established practice, — and witnessing the chemical and me- 
chanical actions of bodies on each other, — he has more opportu- 
nities of observation in these respects, and, consequently, is more 
likely than any other class of society to strike out a new path 
which may lead to some useful invention in the arts, or discovery 
in the sciences.* But if his mind is not imbued with knowledge, 
he trudges on, like a mill-horse, in the same beaten track, and 
may overlook a thousand opportunities of performing expert 
ments, and a thousand circumstances which might suggest new 
improvements. 

In short, in so far as chance is concerned in new discoveries 
and improvements in the arts, the scientific mechanic has a hun- 
dred chances to one, compared with the ignorant artificer, that, in 
the course of his operations, he shall hit upon a new principle or 
improvement : his chances of such results are even superior to 
those of the most profound philosophers who never engage in 
practical operations, as he is constantly in the way of perceiving 
what is useless, defective, or in any way amiss in the common 
methods of procedure. To use a common expression, " he is in 
the way of good luck, and if he possesses the requisite informa- 
tion, he can take the advantage of it when it comes to him." And 
should he be so fortunate as to hit on a new invention, he will 
probably enjoy, not merely the honour which is attached to a new 
discovery, but also the pecuniary advantages which generally re- 
sult from it. 

We have, therefore, every reason to hope, that, were scientific 
knowledge universally diffused among the working classes, every 
department of the useful arts would proceed with a rapid progress 
to perfection, and new arts and inventions, hitherto unknown, be 
introduced on the theatre of the world, to increase the enjoyments 
of domestic society, and to embellish the face of nature. ]N~o 
possible limits can be assigned to the powers of genius, to the re- 
sources of science, to the improvement of machinery, to the aids 
to be derived from chemical researches, and to the skill and indus- 
try of mechanics and labourers when guided by the light which 
scientific discoveries have diffused around them. Almost every 
new discovery in nature lays the foundation of a new art ; and 
since the recent discoveries of chemistry lead to the conviction, 
that the 'properties and powers of material substances are only 6e- 
ginning to be discovered — the resources of art must in some mea- 
sure keep pace with our knowledge of the powers of nature. It 



* See Appendix, No. X. 



154 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Improvements in the Arts. 



is by seizing on these powers, and employing them in subser- 
viency to his designs, that man has been enabled to perform ope- 
rations which the whole united force of mere animal strength could 
never have accomplished. Steam, galvanism, the atmospheric 
pressure, oxygen, hydrogen, and other natural agents, formerly 
unnoticed or unknown, have been called into action by the genius 
of science ; and, in the form of steamboats and carriages,Voltaic 
batteries, gasometers, and air balloons, have generated forces, ef- 
fected decompositions, diffused the most brilliant illuminations, 
and produced a celerity of motion both on sea and land which have 
astonished even the philosophical world, and which former genera- 
tions would have been disposed to ascribe to the agencies of infer- 
nal demons. And who shall dare to set boundaries to the range 
of scientific discovery — or to say, that principles and powers of a 
still more w T onderful and energetic nature, shall not be discovered 
in the system of nature, calculated to perform achievements still 
more striking and magnificent 1 Much has, of late years, been 
performed by the application and combination of chemical and 
mechanical powers, but much more, we may confidently expect, 
will be achieved in generations yet to come, when the physical 
universe shall be more extensively explored, and the gates of the 
temple of knowledge thrown open to all. Future Watts, Davys 
and Arkwrights will doubtless arise, with minds still more bril- 
liantly illuminated with the lights of science ; and the splendid inven- 
tions of the present age be far surpassed in the " future miracles 
of mechanic power," which will distinguish the ages which are yet 
to come. But, in order to this " wished-for consummation," it is 
indispensably requisite that the mass of mankind be aroused from 
their slumbers, that knowledge be universally diffused, and that 
the light of science shed its influence on men of every nation, of 
every profession, and of every rank. And if, through apathy or 
avarice, or indulgence in sensual propensities, we refuse to lend 
our helping hand to this object, now that a spirit of inquiry has 
gone abroad in the world — society may yet relapse into the dark- 
ness which enveloped the human mind during the middle ages, and 
the noble inventions of the past and present age, like the stately 
monuments of Grecian and Roman art, be lost amid the mists of 
ignorance, or blended with the ruins of empires. 

III. The knowledge and mental activity connected with the 
improvement of the arts would promote the external comforts of 
mankind, particularly of the lower orders of society. 

Since the period when the arts began to be improved, and a 
spirit of inquiry after knowledge was excited among the middling 



COMFORT CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 155 



Benefits of Knowledge. 



and lower orders, many comforts and conveniences have been in- 
troduced, and a new lustre appears on the face of general socie- 
ty. In many places the aspect of the country has been entirely 
changed ; the low thatched cottage of the farmer has arisen into 
a stately mansion, the noisome dunghill, which stood within two 
yards of his door, has been thrown into a spacious court at a dis- 
tance from his dwelling, and his offices display a neatness and 
elegance which seem to vie with those of the proprietor of the 
soil. The gloomy parish church, with its narrow aisle and tot- 
tering belfrey, has been transformed into a noble lightsome edi- 
fice, and adorned with a stately spire towering above all sur- 
rounding objects ; and the village school, within whose narrow 
walls a hundred little urchins were crowded, like sheep in a fold, 
has now expanded into a spacious hall. Narrow dirty paths have 
been improved, roads formed on spacious plans, canals and rail- 
ways constructed, streets enlarged, waste lands cultivated, marshes 
drained, and the interior of houses decorated and rendered more 
comfortable and commodious. In districts where nothing former- 
ly appeared but a dreary waste, print-fields have been established, 
cotton-mills, founderies, and other manufactories erected, villages 
reared, and the noise of machinery, the tolling of bells, the sound 
of hammers, the buzz of reels, and the hum of human voices and 
of ceaseless activity, now diversify the scene where nothing was 
formerly heard but the purling stream or the howlings of the tem- 
pest. In certain parts of the country where the passing of a cha- 
riot was a kind of phenomenon, mails and stage-coaches crowded 
with travellers of all descriptions, within and without, now follow 
each other in rapid succession, conveying their passengers with 
uninterrupted rapidity, and at one-half the expense formerly incur- 
red. Even on the inland-lake, where scarcely a small skiff was 
k formerly seen, steam-vessels are now beheld sweeping along in 
majestic style, and landing fashionable parties, heroes, divines, 
and philosophers, to enliven the rural hamlet, the heath-clad moun- 
tain, and the romantic glen. 

Much, however, is still wanting to complete the enjoyments of 
the lower ranks of society. In the country, many of them live in 
the most wretched hovels, open to the wind and rain, without a 
separate apartment to which an individual may retire for any men- 
tal exercise ; in towns, a whole family is frequently crowded into 
a single apartment in a narrow lane, surrounded with filth and 
noxious exhalations, and where the light of day is scarcely visi- 
ble. In such habitations, where the kitchen, parlour, and bed- 
closet are all comprised in one narrow apartment, it is next to 
impossible for a man to improve his mind by reading or reflection r 



156 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Benefits of Knowledge. 



amid the gloom of twilight, the noise of children, and the prepa- 
ration of victuals, even although he felt an ardent desire for intel- 
lectual enjoyment. Hence the temptation to which such persons 
are exposed to seek enjoyment in wandering through the streets, 
in frequenting the ale-house, or in lounging at the fireside in men- 
tal inactivity. In order that the labourer may be stimulated to 
the cultivation of his mental powers, he must be furnished with 
those domestic conveniences requisite for attaining this object. 
He must be paid such wages as will enable him to procure such 
conveniences, and the means of instruction, otherwise it is next 
thing to an insult to exhort him to prosecute the path of science. 
The long hours of labour, and the paltry remuneration which the 
labourer receives in many of our spinning-mills and other manufac- 
tories, so long as such domestic slavery and avaricious practices 
continue, form an insurmountable barrier to the general diffusion 
of knowledge. 

But were the minds of the lower orders imbued with a certain 
portion of useful science, and did they possess such a competen- 
cy as every human being ought to enjoy, their knowledge would 
lead them to habits of diligence and economy. In most instances, 
it will be found that ignorance is the fruitful source of indolence, 
waste, and extravagance, and that abject poverty is the result of 
a want of discrimination and proper arrangement in the manage- 
ment of domestic affairs. Now, the habits of application which 
the acquisition of knowledge necessarily produces would naturally 
be carried into the various departments of labour peculiar to their 
stations, and prevent that laziness and inattention which is too 
common among the working classes, and which not unfrequently 
lead to poverty and disgrace. Their knowledge of the nature of 
heat, combustion, atmospheric air, and combustible substances, 
would lead them to a proper economy in the use of fuel ; and 
their acquaintance with the truths of chemistry, on which the art 
of a rational cookery is founded, would lead them to an economi- 
cal practice in the preparation of victuals, and teach them to ex- 
tract from every substance all its nutritious qualities, and to im- 
part a proper relish to every dish they prepare ; for want of which 
knowledge and attention, the natural substances intended for the 
sustenance of man will not go half their length in the hands of 
some as they do under the judicious management of others. 
Their knowledge of the structure and functions of the animal 
system, of the regimen which ought to be attended to in order to 
health and vigour, of the causes which produce obstructed per- 
spiration, of the means by which pestilential effluvia and infectious 
diseases are propagated, and of the disasters to which the human 



COMFORT CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 157 



Cleanliness essential to Health. 



frame is liable in certain situations, ivould tend to prevent many of 
those diseases and fatal accidents to which ignorance and inatten- 
tion have exposed so many of our fellow-men. For want of at- 
tending to such precautions in these respects as knowledge would 
have suggested, thousands of families have been plunged into 
wretchedness and ruin, which all their future exertions were ina- 
dequate to remove. As the son of Sirach has well observed, 
" Better is the poor being sound and strong in constitution, than 
a rich man that is afflicted in his body. Health and good estate 
of body are above all gold ; there are no riches above a sound 
body, and no joy above the joy of the heart." 

As slovenliness and filth are generally the characteristics of 
ignorance and vulgarity, so an attention to cleanliness is one of 

the distinguishinp; features of cultivated minds. Cleanliness is 

... 
conducive to health and virtuous activity, but uncleanliness is 

prejudicial to both. Keeping the body clean is of great import- 
ance, since more than the one-half of what we eat and drink is 
evacuated by perspiration ; and if the skin is not kept clean the 
pores are stopped, and perspiration consequently prevented, to 
the great injury of health. It is highly necessary to the health 
and cheerfulness of children ; for where it is neglected, they grow 
pale, meagre, and squalid, and subject to several loathsome and 
troublesome diseases. Washing the hands, face, mouth, and feet, 
and occasionally the whole body, conduces to health, strength, and 
ease, and tends to prevent colds, rheumatism, cramps, the palsy, 
the itch, the toothache, and many other maladies. Attention to 
cleanliness of body would also lead to cleanliness in regard to 
clothes, victuals, apartments, beds, and furniture. A knowledge 
of the nature of the mephitic gases, of the necessity of pure 
atmospheric air to health and vigour, and of the means by which 
infection is produced and communicated, would lead persons to see 
the propriety of frequently opening doors and windows to dissipate 
corrupted air, and to admit the refreshing breeze, of sweeping 

I cobwebs from the corners and ceiling of the room, and of remov- 
ing dust, straw, or filth of any kind which is offensive to the 
smell, and in which infection might be deposited. By such at- 
tention, fevers and other malignant disorders might be prevented, 
vigour, health, and serenity promoted, and the whole dwelling 
and its inmates present an air of cheerfulness and comfort, and 

I become the seat of domestic felicity. 
Again, scientific knowledge would display itself among the 
lower orders, in the tasteful decoration of their houses and garden 
plots. The study of botany and horticulture would teach them to 
select the most beautiful flowers, shrubs, and evergreens ; to 
i 14 



l.*;S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Science conducive to Happiness. 



arrange their plots with neatness and taste, and to improve their 
kitchen-garden to the best advantage, so as to render it productive 
for the pleasure and sustenance of their families. A genius for 
mechanical operations, which almost every person may acquire, 
would lead them to invent a variety of decorations, and to devise 
many contrivances for the purpose of conveniency, and for keep- 
ing every thing in its proper place and order — which never enter 
into the conceptions of rude and vulgar minds. Were such dis- 
positions and mental activity generally prevalent, the circum- 
stances which lead to poverty, beggary, and drunkenness, would 
be in a great measure removed, and home would always be re- 
sorted to as a place of comfort and enjoyment. 

Again, the study of science and art would incline the lower 
classes to enter into the spirit of every new improvement, and to 
give their assistance in carrying it forward. The want of taste 
and of mental activity, and the spirit of selfishness which at pre- 
sent prevails among the mass of mankind, prevent the accomplish- 
ment of a variety of schemes which might tend to promote the 
conveniences and comforts of general society. For example : 
many of our villages which might otherwise present the appear- 
ance of neatness and comfort, are almost impassable, especially 
in the winter season, and during rainy weather, on account of the 
badness of roads and the want of footpaths. At almost every 
step you encounter a pool, a heap of rubbish, or a dunghill, and 
in many places feel as if you were walking in a quagmire. In 
some villages, otherwise well planned, the streets present a gro- 
tesque appearance, of sandy hillocks and mounds, and pools of 
stagnant water scattered in every direction, with scarcely the 
vestige of a pathway to guide the steps of the passenger. In 
winter, the traveller, in passing along, is bespattered with mire 
and dirt ; and in summer, he can only drag heavily on, while his 
feet at every step sink into soft and parched sand. Now, such 
is the apathy and indifference that prevail among many villagers 
as to improvement in these respects, that although the contribu- 
tion of a single shilling, or of half a day's labour, might, in some 
instances, accomplish the requisite improvements, they will stand 
aloof from such operations with a sullen obstinacy, and even 
glory in being the means of preventing them. Nay, such is the 
selfishness of many individuals, that they will not remove nui- 
sances even from the front of their own dwellings, because it 
might at the same time promote the convenience of the public at 
large. In large town-, likewise, many narrow lanes are rendered 
filthy, gloomy, and unwholesome by the avarice of landlords, and 
the obstinate and boorish manners of their tenants, and improve- 



COMFORT CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. 159 

i i ■ " j - 

Science conductive to Happiness. 

ments prevented which would tend to the health and comfort of 
the inhabitants. But as knowledge tends to liberalize the mind, 
to subdue the principle of selfishness, and to produce a relish for 
cleanliness and comfort, when it is more generally diffused, we 
may expect that such improvements as those to which I allude 
will be carried forward w 7 ith spirit and alacrity. There would not 
be the smallest difficulty in accomplishing every object of this 
kind, and every other improvement conducive to the pleasure and 
comfort of the social state, provided the majority of a community 
were cheerfully to come forward with their assistance and contri- 
butions, however small, and to act with concord and harmony. 
A whole community or nation acting in unison, and every one 
contributing according to his ability, would accomplish wonders 
in relation to the improvement of towns, villages, and hamlets, and 
of every thing that regards the comfort of civil and domestic 
society. 

In short, were knowledge generally diffused, and art uniformly 
directed by the principles of science, new and interesting plans 
would be formed, new improvements set on foot, new comforts 
enjoyed, and a new lustre would appear on the face of nature, and 
on the state of general society. Numerous conveniences, deco- 
rations, and usefuL establishments never yet attempted would 
soon be realized. Houses on neat and commodious plans, in 
airy situations, and furnished with every requisite accommoda- 
tion, would be reared for the use of the peasant and mechanic ; 
schools on spacious plans for the promotion of useful knowledge 
would be erected in every village and hamlet, and in every quarter 
of a city where they were found expedient ; asylums would be 
built for the reception of the friendless poor, whether young or 
old ; manufactories established for supplying employment to 
every class of labourers and artisans, and lecture-rooms prepared, 
furnished with requisite apparatus, to which they might resort for 
improvement in science. Roads would be cut in all convenient 
directions, diversified with rural decorations, hedge-rows, and 
shady bowers, — foot-paths, broad and smooth, would accompany 
them in all their windings, — and gas-lamps, erected at e\ery half- 
mile's distance, would variegate the rural scene and cheer the 
shades of night. Narrow lanes in cities would be either widened 
or their houses demolished ; streets on broad and spacious plans 
would be built, the smoke of steam-engines consumed, nuisances 
removed, and cleanliness and comfort attended to in every 
arrangement. Cheerfulness and activity would every where pre- 
vail ; and the idler, the vagrant, and the beggar would disappear 
from society. All these operations and improvements, and hun- 



' 



160 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



The Deity. 



drcds more, could easily be accomplished, were the minds of the 
great body of the community thoroughly enlightened and moral- 
ized, and every individual, whether rich or poor, who contributed 
to bring them into effect, would participate in the general enjoy- 
ment. And what an interesting picture would be presented to 
every benevolent mind, to behold the great body of mankind 
raised from a state of moral and physical degradation to the dig- 
nity of their rational natures, and to the enjoyment of the boun- 
ties of their Creator ! — to behold the country diversified with the 
neat and cleanly dwellings of the industrious labourer, — the rural 
scene, during the day, adorned with seminaries, manufactories, 
asylums, stately edifices, gardens, fruitful fields, and romantic 
bowers ; and during night bespangled in all directions with 
variegated lamps, forming a counterpart, as it were, to the lights 
which adorn the canopy of heaven ! Such are only a few speci- 
mens of the improvements which art, directed by science and 
morality, could easily accomplish. 



SECTION VI. 

On the Influence of Knowledge in promoting enlarged Conceptions 
of the Character and Perfections of the Deity. 

All the works of God speak of their Author in silent but em- 
phatic language, and declare the glory of his perfections to all the 
inhabitants of the earth. But, although " there is no speech nor 
language" where the voice of Deity is not heard, how gross are 
the conceptions generally entertained of the character of Him " in 
whom we live and move," and by whose superintending provi- 
dence all events are directed ! Among the great number of pagan 
nations, the most absurd and grovelling notions are entertained 
respecting the Supreme Intelligence, and the nature of that wor- 
ship which his perfections demand. They have formed the most 
foolish and degrading representations of this august Being, and 
have " changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image 
made like to corruptible man, and to four-footed beasts and creep- 
ing things." Temples have been erected, and filled with idols the 
most hideous and obscene ; bulls and crocodiles, dogs and ser- 
pents, goats and lions, have been exhibited to adumbrate the cha- 
racter of the Ruler of the universe. The most cruel and unhal- 
lowed rites have been performed to procure his favour, and human 
victims sacrificed to appease his indignation. All such grovelling 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE DEITY. 161 



Omnipotence and Wisdom of the Deity in Creation. 



conceptions and vile abominations have their origin in the dark- 
ness which overspreads the human understanding, and the de- 
praved passions which ignorance has a tendency to produce. 
Even in those countries where revelation sheds its influence, and 
the knowledge of the true God is promulgated, how mean and 
contracted are the conceptions which the great bulk of the popu- 
lation entertain of the attributes of that incomprehensible Being 
whose presence pervades the immensity of space, " who metes 
out the heavens with a span," and superintends the affairs of ten 
thousand worlds." The views which many have acquired of the 
perfections of the Deity do not rise much higher than those which 
we ought to entertain of the powers of an archangel, or of one of 
the seraphim ; and some have been known, even in our own 
country, whose conceptions have been so abject and grovelling, 
as to represent to themselves " the King eternal, immortal, and 
invisible," under the idea of a " venerable old man." Even the 
more intelligent class of the community fall far short of the ideas 
they ought to form of the God of heaven, owing to the limited 
views they have been accustomed to take of the displays of his 
wisdom and benevolence, and the boundless range of his operations. 
We can acquire a knowledge of the Deity only by the visible 
effects he has produced, or the external manifestations he has 
given of himself to his creatures ; for the Divine Essence must 
remain for ever inscrutable to finite minds. These manifesta- 
tions are made in the Revelations contained in the Bible, and in 
the scene of the material universe around us. The moral perfec- 
tions of God, such as his justice, mercy, and faithfulness, are more 
particularly delineated in his Word ; for of these the system of 
nature can afford us only some slight hints and obscure intimations. 
His natural attributes, such as his immensity, omnipotence, wis- 
dom, and goodness, are chiefly displayed in the works of creation; 
and to this source of information the inspired writers uniformly 
direct our attention, in order that we may acquire the most ample 
and impressive views of the grandeur of the Divinity, and the mag- 
nificence of his operations. " Lift up your eyes on high and be- 
hold ! who hath created these orbs ? who bringeth forth their host 
by number ? The everlasting God the Lord, by the greatness of 
his might, for that he is strong in power. He measureth the ocean 
in the hollow of his hand, he comprehends the dust of the earth 
in a measure, he weigheth the mountains in scales, and hath 
stretched out the heavens by his understanding. All nations be- 
fore him are as the drop of a bucket, and are counted to him less 
than nothing, and vanity. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and 
the glory, and the majesty, for all that is in heaven and earth is 
*14 






162 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

The Sacred Oracles. 



thine." The pointed interrogatories proposed to Job,* and the 
numerous exhortations in reference to this subject, contained in 
the book of Psalms and other parts of Scripture, plainly evince, 
that the character of God is to be contemplated through the 
medium of his visible works. In order to acquire a just and 
comprehensive conception of the perfections of Deity, we must 
contemplate his character as displayed both in the system of 
Revelation and in the system of nature, otherwise we can acquire 
only a partial and distorted view of the attributes of Jehovah. The 
Scriptures alone, without the medium of his works, cannot convey 
to us the most sublime conceptions of the magnificence of his em- 
pire and his eternal power and Godhead ; and the works of nature, 
without the revelations of his Word, leave us in profound darkness 
with regard to the most interesting parts of his character — the plan 
of his moral government, and the ultimate destination of man. 

Would we, then, acquire the most sublime and comprehensive 
views of that invisible Being, who created the universe, and by 
whom all things are upheld, we must, in the first place, apply 
ourselves, with profound humility and reverence, to the study of the 
Sacred Oracles ; and, in the next place, direct our attention to 
the material works of God as illustrative of his Scriptural charac- 
ter, and of the declarations of his Word. And, since the sacred 
writers direct our views to the operations of the Almighty in the 
visible universe, in ivhat manner are we to contemplate these 
operations ? Are we to view them in a careless, cursory manner, 
or with fixed attention ? Are we to gaze on them with the vacant 
stare of a savage, or with the penetrating eye of a Christian phi- 
losopher ? Are we to view them through the mists of ignorance 
and vulgar prejudice, or through the light which science has dif- 
fused over the wonders of creation? There can be no difficulty to 
any reflecting mind in determining which of these modes ought to 
be adopted. The Scriptures declare, that as " the works of Jeho- 
vah are great ," they must be " sought out ," or thoroughly investi- 
gated, " by all those who have pleasure therein ;" and a threatening 
is denounced against every one who " disregards the works of the 
Lord,' 7 and " neglects to consider the operations of his hand." 

Such declarations evidently imply, that we ought to make the 
visible works of God the subject of our serious study and investi- 
gation, and exercise the rational powers he has given us for this 
purpose ; otherwise we cannot expect to derive from them a true 
and faithful exhibition of his character and purposes. For, as the 
character of God is impressed upon his works, that character 

Job ch. xxxviii. &c. 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE DIVINE BEING. 163 

Power of the Deity. 



cannot be distinctly traced unless those works be viewed in their 
true light and actual relations — not as they may appear to a 
rude and inattentive spectator, but as they are actually found to 
exist, when thoroughly examined by the light of science and of 
revelation. For example, a person unaccustomed to investigate 
the system of nature imagines that the earth is a fixed mass of 
land and water in the midst of creation, and one of the largest 
bodies in nature, and, consequently, that the sun, moon, and stars, 
and the whole material universe, revolve around it every twenty- 
four hours. Such a conception of the material system might, in- 
deed, convey to the mind an astonishing idea of the power of the 
Deity in causing such an immense number of orbs to revolve 
around our world with so prodigious a velocity as behooved to 
take place, were the earth in reality a quiescent body in the cen- 
tre of the universe. But it would give us a most strange and dis- 
torted idea of his intelligence. While it tended to magnify his 
omnipotence, it would, in effect, deprive him of the attribute of 
wisdom. For, in the first place, such a conception would repre- 
sent the Almighty as having devised a system of means altogether 
superfluous and preposterous, in order to accomplish the end in- 
tended ; for it is the characteristic of wisdom to proportionate the 
means to the nature of the design which is to be accomplished. 
The design, in the case under consideration, is to produce the al- 
ternate succession of day and night. This can be effected by 
giving the earth itself a rotation round its axis, as is the case in 
other globes of much larger dimensions. But according to the 
conceotion to which we are now adverting the whole material crea- 
Hon is considered as daily revolving around this comparatively 
little globe of earth, an idea altogether extravagant and absurd, 
and inconsistent with every notion we ought to entertain of infi- 
nite wisdom. In the next place, were the earth considered a3 at 
rest, the motions of the planets would present a series of looped 
curves without any marks of design, a scene of inextricable con- 
fusion, and the whole of the solar system would appear devoid of 
order and harmony, and, consequently, without the marks of wis- 
dom and intelligence. So that when the arrangements of nature 
are contemplated through the mists of ignorance, they tend to ob- 
scure the glory of the Divinity, and to convey a distorted idea of 
his character. Whereas, when the system of the universe is 
contemplated in its true light, all appears arranged with the most 
admirable harmony, simplicity, and order, and every mean propor- 
tionate to the end it is intended to accomplish. Again, in so far as 
we consider the earth as the principal body, or among the largest 
bodies of the universe, in so far do we narrow our conceptions of 



164 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Revelation illustrated by Science. 



the extent and magnificence of creation, and, consequently, limit 
our views of the plans and perfections of the Creator. For our 
conceptions of his attributes must, in some measure, correspond 
to the views we have acquired of the amplitude and grandeur of 
his empire. 

Now, what is it that enables us to investigate the works of God, 
and to contemplate the system of nature in its true light ? It is 
Science combined with observation and experiment. And what is 
science, considered in a theological point of view ? It is nothing 
else than a rational inquiry into the arrangements and operations 
of the Almighty, in order to trace the perfections therein display- 
ed. And what are the truths which science has discovered ? 
They may be regarded as so many rays of celestial light descend- 
ing from the Great Source of Intelligence to illuminate the hu- 
man mind in the knowledge of the Divine character and govern- 
ment, and to stimulate it to still more vigorous exertions in simi- 
lar investigations, just as the truths of revelation are so many 
emanations from the " Father of lights," to enlighten the dark- 
ness and to counteract the disorders of the moral world ; ano} 
both these lights must be resorted to to direct our inquiries, if we 
wish to attain the clearest and most comprehensive views of the 
attributes of the Divine mind. Revelation declares, in so many 
distinct propositions, the character of God, and the plans of his 
moral government. Science explains and illustrates many of 
those subjects to which revelation refers. It removes the veil 
from the works of the Creator ; it dispels the mists which igno- 
rance and superstition have thrown around them ; it conducts us 
into the secret chambers of nature, and discloses to us many of 
those hidden springs which produce the diversified phenomena of 
the material world ; it throws a light on those delicate and minute 
objects which lie concealed from the vulgar eye, and brings with- 
in the range of our contemplation the distant glories of the sky ; 
it unveils the laws by w r hich the Almighty directs the movements 
of his vast empire, and exhibits his operations in a thousand as- 
pects, of which the unenlightened mind can form no conception. If, 
then, science throws a light on the works and the ways of God, 
the acquisition of scientific knowledge, when properly directed, 
must have a tendency to direct our conceptions and to amplify our 
views of his adorable attributes, and of his providential arrange- 
ments. 

Here it will naturally be inquired, — What are some of those 
views of the Divine character which scientific investigation has a 
tendency to unfold ? Our limits will not permit a full and explicit 
answer to this inquiry, the illustration of which would require a 



UNITY OF THE DIVINE BEING. 165 



Harmony of Creation. 



volume of no inconsiderable size ; and therefore we shall attempt 
nothing more than the statement of a few general hints. 

1. The phenomena of the material world, as investigated by 
science, evince the unity of the Divine Being. There is such a 
harmony that, prevails through the whole visible universe, as plain- 
ly shows it to be under the government of one Intelligence. Amid 
the immense complication that surrounds us we perceive one set of 
laws uniformly operating, in accordance with which all things pro- 
ceed in their regular courses. The same causes uniformly pro- 
duce the same effects in every region of the world, and in every 
period of time. "Vegetables spring from the same seed, germi- 
nate by the same means, assume the same form, sustain the same 
qualities, exist through the same duration, and come to the same 
end." Animals, too, of the same species, are brought into exist- 
ence in the same manner, exhibit the same life and vital func- 
tions, display the same active powers and instinct, and hasten to 
the same dissolution. Man has one origin, one general form, the 
same corporeal structure, the same vital functions, the same sys- 
tem of intellectual faculties, and comes to the same termination. 
All the elements around him, and every arrangement in this sub- 
lunary sphere, are made, in one regular manner, subservient to his 
sensitive enjoyment, and are evidently fitted, by one design, and 
directed by one agency, to promote his happiness. The connex- 
ion and harmony which subsist between the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms, plainly evince that one and the same Being is the for- 
mer of both ; and that in his contrivances with respect to the one, 
he had in view the necessities of the other. We know, that differ- 
ent sorts of plants, herbs, and flowers, are appointed for food 
to the several tribes of animals. That which is hurtful to one 
species is salutary to another. One creature climbs the highest 
rocks for herbs, another digs in the earth for roots, and we scarcely 
know a plant or leaf but what affords nourishment and a place of 
nativity to some species or other of the insect tribes. This is the 
foundation of innumerable relations and connexions between these 
two departments of creation, which show the work to be one, 
and the result of the same Power and Intelligence. In like man- 
ner, day and night uniformly return with the utmost regularity, and 
by the operation of the same cause ; and with the same regulari- 
ty and harmony the seasons revolve and appear in constant suc- 
cession. The composition of the atmosphere is the same under 
every latitude, and light and heat are diffused by the same law in 
every region of the earth. One law causes a stone to fall to the 
ground ; and by the operation of the same law, the moon is retain- 
ed in her orbit around the earth, the planets directed in their revo- 



166 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Wisdom of the Deity. 



hitions around the sun, and the whole universe compacted L 
one harmonious system. In short, all the arrangements ? 
operations of nature, so far as our knowledge extends, preseni 
our view a single design, regularly executed by a single agen 
The fair inference, therefore, is, that every part of the worlo 
which we dwell, and every department of the solar system, 
under the government of one Intelligence, which directs everv 
movement throughout the universal system. And the more e 
tensively our views of the universe are enlarged, the marks 
unity in operation and design become more strikingly apparent. 
Now, if two or more intelligences had the government of tr 
universe in their hands, and if they had equal power and contrary 
designs, their purposes would clash, and they could never become 
the parents of that harmony which we clearly perceive throughout 
the system of nature. Thus the operations of the visible world 
confirm and illustrate the declaration of the inspired oracles, that 
" there is none other God but erne." 

2. A scientific investigation of the material world opens to us 
innumerable evidences of Divine Wisdom. 

Wherever we turn our eyes in the visible world around us, and 
survey with attention the various processes of nature, we perceive 
at every step the most striking marks of intelligence and design. 
We perceive the wisdom of the great Author of nature, in the 
admirable constitution of the atmosphere, and the wonderful pro- 
perties of the constituent principles of which it is comp« 
the motions of light, the inconceivable smallness of its 
its adaptation to the eye, and the admirable manner 
vision is performed, — in the nature of sound, the laws *vnich 
it is propagated, and the various modifications of which it is sus- 
ceptible, — in the process of evaporation, and the rains, dews, and 
fertility, which are the results of this admirable part of tjhe dco- 
nomy of nature, — in the utility of the mountains and valleys with 
which the earth is diversified, and the beautiful colouring v. 1 
is spread over the face of nature, — in the morning and eve> :ng 
tivilight and the gradual approaches of light and darkness, — in 
the vast expanse of the ocean and its numerous productions. In 
the grand, and picturesque, and beautiful landscapes with which 
our globe is adorned, in the composition and specific gravity of 
water, and in the peculiar structure and density of the solid Darts 
of the earth, — in the expansion of water in the act of fre» 
and the nature and properties of heat and flame, — in the 
of steam, the properties of the gases, the qualities of the i 
and the agencies of the galvanic and electric fluids, — in tf 
ture of vegetables, the adaptation of their seeds, root? 



WISDOM OF THE DEITY. 167 



As displayed throughout Nature. 



*teels and leaves, to the purpose of vegetative life, — the curious 
^cesses which are continually going on in their internal parts, 
r Ir delicate contexture and diversified hues, and the important 
ooses they serve in the system of nature, — in the structure of 
'various animated beings which traverse the air, the waters, 
-, the earth, — the provision made for the continuance of the 
Sqpfecies, their architective faculties, their wonderful instincts, and 
infinite diversity of organization which appears among them, 
Jed to their various wants and modes of existence, — in the 
admirable organization of the human frame, the numerous bones, 
uscles, ligaments, membranes, arteries, and veins, which enter 
iiAo its construction, the apt disposition of all its parts, the means 
contrived for the reception and distribution of nutriment, the 
effect which this nutriment produces in bringing the body to its 
full growth and expansion, — its self-restoring power when dis- 
eased or wounded, the provision made against evil accidents and 
inconveniences, the variety of muscular movements of which it 
is susceptible, the process of respiration, the circulation of the 
blood, the separation of the chyle, the exquisite structure of the 
different senses, and the nice adaptation of every organ and 
movement to the ends it was intended to subserve. The same 
wisdom is perceptible in the position which the sun holds in the 
solar system, in order to a due distribution of light and heat to 
surrounding worlds ; in the distance at which the earth is placed 
luminary, — in the order and harmony of all the celestial 
md in the wonderful and beautiful scenery, invisible to 
k "sted eye, which the microscope displays, both in the 

animL. , id vegetable world. In short, there is not an object 
within us or around us, in the mountains or the plains, in the 
air, the ocean, or the sky, — among the animal or the vegetable 
tribe ;, when steadily contemplated in all its aspects and relations, 
but displays to the eye of reason and devotion the consummate 
•igence and skill of its almighty Author, and calls upon every 
intelligent agent, in silent but emphatic language, to praise him 
44 who made the earth, the sea, the fountains of water, and all that 
lis ci them, for whose pleasure they are and were created." 

lifl us just select one example out of the many thousands 

which might be brought forward on this subject. This example 

shall, be taken from an invisible department of nature. In conse- 

of modern scientific discovery, it has been ascertained 

' 3 atmosphere, or the air we breathe, is compounded of two 

substances, termed oxygen gas and nitrogen gas. Oxy- 

g* brmerly stated, is the principle of vitality and combustion ; 

ed i is destructive both to flame and animal life. Were we 



168 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Infinite Knowledge of the Divine Mind. 



to breathe oxygen by itself, it would cause our blood to circulate 
with greater rapidity, but it would soon waste and destroy the 
human frame by the rapid accumulation of heat. Were the 
nitrogen to be extracted from the atmosphere, and the oxygen 
left to exert its native energies, it would melt the hardest sub- 
stances, and set the earth on flames. If the oxygen were extracted 
and the nitrogen only remained, every species of fire and flame 
would be extinguished, and all the tribes of animated nature 
instantly destroyed. The proportion of these two gases to each 
other is nearly as one to four. Were this proportion materially 
altered, a fluid might be produced which would cause a burning 
pain and instaneous suffocation. The specific gravity of these 
two substances is nearly as 37 to 33 ; that is, the nitrogen is a 
small degree lighter than the oxygen. Were this proportion 
reversed, or, in other words, were the oxygen of the atmosphere 
a small degree lighter than the nitrogen, so that the nitrogen 
might become a little heavier than common air, — -as this gas is 
thrown off continually by the breathing of men and other animals, 
— it would perpetually occupy the lower regions of the atmosphere, 
and be productive of universal pestilence and death. Again, 
oxygen gas is separated from the nitrogen in the lungs ; it is 
absorbed by the blood, and gives it its red colour, and is the 
source of animal heat throughout the whole system. It forms 
the basis of all the acids ; it pervades the substance of the vege- 
table tribes, and enables them to perform their functions, and it 
forms a constituent part of the water which fills our rivers, seas, 
and oceans. And as the atmosphere is daily liable to be deprived 
of this fluid by combustion, respiration, and other processes, the 
leaves of trees and other vegetables give out a large portion of it 
during the day, which, uniting with the nitrogen gas thrown off 
by the breathing of animals, keeps up the equilibrium, and pre- 
serves the salubrity of the air in which we move and breathe. 

These facts demonstrate the infinite knowledge and the con- 
summate wisdom of the Contriver of the universe, — in the exqui- 
sitely nice adjustment of every minute circumstance, so as to pre- 
serve the balance of nature and secure the happiness of his sen- 
sitive and intelligent offspring. What an all-comprehensive intel- 
ligence does it indicate in the Divine Mind, to cause one single 
principle in different combinations to produce so immense a va- 
riety of important effects ! What dreadful havoc would be pro- 
duced throughout the whole of our sublunary system, if a substance 
like oxygen gas, which pervades every part of nature, were not 
nicely balanced and proportioned! All nature might soon be 
thrown into confusion, and all the tribes of the living world either 



- 



BENEVOLENCE OF THE DEITY. 169 



Adjustment of Means to Ends. 



j be reduced to misery or swept into the tomb. A material differ- 

jl ence in the proportion of the two airs which compose the atmos- 

5 phere might be productive of the most dreadful and destructive effects. 

! One of the most corrosive acids, aquafortis, is composed of 75parts 

oxygen and 25 parts nitrogen. Were this the proportion of these 

fluids in the atmosphere, every breath we drew would produce the 

, most excruciating pain, and, after two or three inspirations, the 

vital powers would be overcome, and life extinguished. Here 

i then we perceive an admirable adjustment of means to ends, and an 

j evidence of that comprehensive knowledge which penetrates into 

I . the energies of all substances, and foresees all the consequences 

! which can follow from the principles and laws of nature, in every 

i combination and in every mode of their operation. This is only 

, one instance out of a thousand which the researches of science 

j |j afford us of the admirable economy of the wisdom of God. From 

i |i ignorance of such facts, the bulk of mankind are incapable of 

i i] appreciating the blessings they enjoy, under the arrangements of 

Infinite Wisdom and unqualified for rendering a grateful homage 

to Him " in whom they live, and move, and have their being." 

3. The contemplation of nature through the medium of science 
; affords innumerable displays of the benevolence of the Deity. 
Benevolence, or goodness, is that perfection of God which leads 
him, in all his arrangements, to communicate happiness to every 
order of his creatures. This attribute, though frequently over- 
looked, is so extensively displayed throughout the scene of crea- 
tion, that we feel at a loss to determine from what quarter we should 
select instances for its illustration. Wherever we find evidences 
of wisdom and design, we also find instances of benevolence ; 
for ali the admirable contrivances we perceive in the system of 
nature have it as their ultimate end to convey pleasure, in one 
shape or another, to sensitive beings. If there are more than 240 
bones in the human body, variously articulated, and more than 
,440 muscles, of different forms and contextures, such a structure 
.is intended to produce a thousand modifications of motion in the 
'several members of which it is composed, and to facilitate every 
operation we have occasion to perform. If the ear is formed with 
an external porch, a hammer, an anvil, a tympanum, a stirrup, and 
a labyrinth, this apparatus is intended to convey pleasure to the 
soul by communicating to it all the modifications of sound. If 
the eye is composed of three coats, some of them opaque and 
transparent, with three humours of different forms and re- 
fractive powers, and a numerous assemblage of minute veins, 
arteries, muscles, nerves, glands, and lymphatics, it is in order that 
the images of objects may be accurately depicted on the retina, 
15 



170 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF. KNOWLEDGE, 



The Divine Benevolence. 



that the ball of the eye may be easily turned in every direction, 
and that we may enjoy all the entertainments of vision.* If an 
atmosphere is thrown around the earth, it is for the purpose of at- 
tempering the rays of the sun, giving a lucid brightness to every 
part of the heavens, producing the morning and evening twilight, 
promoting evaporation and the respiration of animals, and causing 
the earth to bring forth abundance of food, by means of the rains 
and dews ; all which effects produce happiness in a thousand dif- 
ferent ways to every sentient being. If this atmosphere presses 
our bodies with a weight of thirty thousand pounds, it is in order 
to counterpoise the internal pressure of the circulating fluids, and 
to preserve the vessels and animal functions in due tone and 
vigour, without which pressure the elastic fluids in the finer vessels 
would inevitably burst them, and the spark of life be quickly ex- 
tinguished. Thousands of examples of this description, illustra- 
tive of Divine benevolence, might be selected from every part of 
the material system connected with our world, all of which would 
demonstrate, that the communication of enjoyment is the great 
end of all the contrivances of Infinite Wisdom. 



* As an evidence of the care of the Creator to promote our enjoyment, the 
following instance may be selected in regard to the muscles of the eye. No- 
thing can be more manifestly an evidence of contrivance and design, and at 
the same time of benevolent intention, than these muscles, which are admirably 
adapted to move the ball of the eye in every direction, upwards, downwards, 
to the right-hand, to the left, and in whatever direction we please, so as to 
preserve that parallelism of the eye which is necessary to distinct vision. In 
Fig. 1 is exhibited the eyeball with its muscles ;a, is the optic nerve : b, the 
musculus trochlearis, which turns the pupil downwards and outwards, and 
enables the ball of the eye to roll about at pleasure ; c, is part ofthe osfrontis. 

Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 




BENEVOLENCE OF THE DEITY. 171 



Gratification of the Senses. 



There is a striking display of benevolence in the gratification 
afforded to our different senses. As the eye is constructed of the 
most delicate substances, and is one of the most admirable 
pieces of mechanism connected with our frame, so the Creator 
has arranged the world in such a manner as to afford it the most 
varied and delightful gratification. By means of the solar light, 
which is exactly adapted to the structure of this organ, thousands 
of objects of diversified beauty and sublimity are presented to 
the view. It opens before us the mountains, the vales, the 
woods, the lawns, the brooks, and rivers, the fertile plains, and 
flowery fields, adorned with every hue, — the expanse of the ocean 
and the glories of the firmament. And as the eye would be daz- 
zled were a deep red colour or a brilliant white to be spread over 
the face of nature, the Divine goodness has clothed the heavens 
with blue and the earth with green, the two colours which are the 
least fatiguing and the most pleasing to the organs of sight, and 
at the same time one of these colours is diversified by a thousand 
delicate shades which produce a delightful variety upon the land- 
scape of the world. The ear is curiously constructed for the 
perception of sounds, which the atmosphere is fitted to convey ; 
and what a variety of pleasing sensations are produced by the ob- 
jects of external nature intended to affect this organ ! The mur- 
murings of the brooks, the whisperings of the gentle breeze, the 
hum of bees, the chirping of birds, the lowing of the herds, the 
melody of the feathered songsters, the roarings of a stormy ocean, 
the dashings of a mighty cataract, and, above all, the numerous 
modulations of the human voice and the harmonies of music, 
produce a variety of delightful emotions which increase the sum 
of human enjoyment. To gratify the sense of smelling, the air 
is perfumed with a variety of delicious odours, exhaled from in- 
to which the trochlea or pully is fixed, through which d, the tendon of the 
trochlearis passes ; e, is the attolens oculi, for raising up the globe of the eye ; 
n the depressor oculi, for pulling the globe of the eye down ; /, adductor oculi, 
for turning the eye towards the nose ; g, abductor oculi, for moving the globe 
of the eye outwards, to the right or left ; h, obliquus inferior, for drawing the 
globe of the eye forwards, inwards, and downwards ; i, part of the superior 
maxillary bone, to which it is fixed ; k, the eyeball. Fig. 2 represents the 
same muscles in a different point of view, where the same letters refer to the 
same muscles. 

All these opposite and antagonist muscles preserve a nice equilibrium, which 
is effected partly by their equality of strength, partly by their peculiar origin, 
and partly by the natural posture of the body and the eye, by which means 
the eve can be turned instantaneously towards any object,preserved in perfect 
steadiness, and prevented from rolling about in hideous contortions. This is 
only one, out of a hundred instances in relation to the eye, in which the same 
benevolent design is displayed. 



172 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Remedies against Evils. 



numerable plants and flowers. To gratify the feeling, pleasing 
Dsations of various descriptions are connected almost with 
every thing we have occasion to touch ; and to gratify the sense 
of taste, the earth is covered with an admirable profusion of 
plants, herbs, roots, and delicious fruits of thousands of different 
qualities and flavours, calculated to convey an agreeable relish to 
the inhabitants of every clime. Now, it is easy to conceive that 
these gratifications were not necessary to our existence. The 
purposes of vision, as a mere animal sensation for the use of 
self-preservation, might have been answered, although every trace 
of beauty and sublimity had been swept from the universe, and 
nothing but a vast assemblage of dismal and haggard objects had 
appeared on the face of nature. The purpose of hearing might 
have been effected although every sound had been grating and 
discordant, and the voice of melody for ever unknown. We 
might have had smell without fragrance or perfume ; taste with- 
out variety of flavour ; and feeling, not only without the least 
pleasing sensation, but accompanied with incessant pain. But, 
in this case, the system of nature would have afforded no direct 
proofs, as it now does, of Divine benevolence. 

The remedies which the Deity has provided against the evils to 
which we are exposed are likewise a proof of his benevolence. 
Medicines are provided for the cure of the diseases to which 
we are liable ; heat is furnished to deliver us from the effects of 
cold; rest from the fatigues of labour ; sleep from the languors 
of watching ; artificial light to preserve us from the gloom of ab- 
solute darkness, and shade from the injuries of scorching heat. 
Goodness is also displayed in the power of self-restoration which 
our bodies possess in recovering us from sickness and disease, 
in healing wounds and bruises, and in recovering our decayed 
organs of sensation, without which power almost every human 
being would present a picture of deformity and a body full of scars 
and putrefying sores. The pupil of the eye is so constructed, 
that it is capable of contracting and dilating by a sort of instinctive 
power. By tliis means the organ of vision defends itself from 
the blindness which might ensue from the admission of too great 
a quantity of light ; while, on the other hand, its capacity of ex- 
pansion, so as to take in a greater quantity of rays, prevents us 
from being in absolute darkness even in the deepest gloom, with- i 
out which we could scarcely take a step with safety during a cloudy 
night. Again, in the construction of the human body, and of the 
various tribes of animated beings, however numerous and com- 
plicated their organs, there is no instance can be produced that 
any one muscle, nerve, joint, limb, or other part is con- 






BENEVOLENCE OF THE DEITY, 173 

Provision for all Creation. 



trived for the purpose of producing pain. When pain is felt, it is 
uniformly owing to some derangement of the corporeal organs, 
but is never the necessary result of the original contrivance. On 
the other hand, every part of the construction of living beings, 
every organ and function, and every contrivance, however deli- 
cate and minute, in so far as its use is known, is found to contri- 
bute to the enjoyment of the individual to which it belongs, either 
by facilitating its movements, by enabling it to ward off dangers, 
or in some way or another to produce agreeable sensations. 

In short, the immense multitude of animated beings which people 
the earth, and the ample provision which is made for their necessities, 
furnish irresistible evidence of Divine goodness. It has been 
ascertained that more than sixty thousand species of animals in- 
habit the air, the earth, and the waters, besides many thousands 
which have not yet come within the observation of the naturalist. 
On the surface of the earth there is not a patch of ground or a 
portion of water, a single shrub, tree, or herb, and scarcely a 
single leaf in the forest, but what teems with animated beings. 
How many hundreds of millions have their dwellings in caves, in 
the clefts of rocks, in the bark of trees, in ditches, in marshes, 
\ in the forests, the mountains and the valleys ! What innumerable 
( shoals of fishes inhabit the ocean and sport in the seas and rivers ! 
What millions on millions of birds and flying insects, in endless 
1 variety, wing their flight through the atmosphere above and around 
us ! Were we to suppose that each species, at an average, con- 
tains four hundred millions of individuals, there would be 
24,000,000,000,000, or 24 billions of living creatures belonging 
i to all the known species which inhabit the different regions of the 
I world — besides the multitudes of unknown species yet undiscov- 
ered, — which is thirty thousand times the number of all the human 
i beings that people the globe.* Besides these, there are multi- 
\ tudes of animated beings which no man can number, invisible to 
! the unassisted eye, and dispersed through every region of the 
earth, air, and seas. In a small stagnant pool which in summer 
i appears covered with a green scum, there are more microscopic 
! animalcules than would outnumber all the inhabitants of the earth. 
How immense then must be the collective number of these crea- 
tures throughout every region of the earth and atmosphere ! It 
surpasses all our conceptions. Now, it is a fact that, from the 

* As an instance of the immense number of animated beings, the following 
facts in relation to two species of birds may be stated. Captain Flinders, in 
his voyage to Australasia, saw a compact stream of stormy petrels, which was 
from 50 to SO yards deep and 300 yards or more broad. This stream, for a 
full hour and a half, continued to pass without interruption with nearly the 
15* 



174 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Provision for all Creation. 



elephant to the mite, from the whale to the oyster, and from the 
eagle to the gnat, or the mieroscopic animaleula, no animal can 
subsist without nourishment. Every species, too, requires a differ- 
ent kind of food. Some live on grass, some on shrubs, some on 
flowers, and some on trees. Some feed only on the roots of 
vegetables, some on the stalk, some on the leaves, some on the 
fruit, some on the seed, some on the whole plant ; some prefer 
one species of grass, some another. Linnaeus has remarked, 
that the cow eats 276 species of plants, and rejects 218 ; the goat 
eats 449, and rejects 126 ; the sheep eats 387, and rejects 141 ; 
the horse eats 262, and rejects 212 ; and the hog, more nice in 
its taste than any of these, eats but 72 plants and rejects all the 
rest. Yet such is the unbounded munificence of the Creator, that 
all these countless myriads of sentient beings are amply provided 

swiftness of the pigeon. Now, taking the column at 50 yards deep by 300 
in breadth, and that it moved 30 miles an hour, and allowing nine cubic inches 
of space to each bird, the number would amount to 151 millions and a half. 
The migratory pigeon of the United States flies in more still amazing multitudes. 
Wilson, in his " American Ornithology," says, " Of one of these immense 
flocks, let us attempt to calculate the numbers, as seen in passing between 
Frankfort on the Kentucky and the Indian territory. If we suppose this 
column to have been one mile in breadth, and I believe it to have been much 
more, and that it moved four hours at the rate of one mile a minute, the time 
it continued in passing would make the whole length 240 miles. Again, sup- 
posing that each square yard of this moving body comprehended three 
pigeons, the square yards multiplied by 3 would give 2,230,272,000," that is, 
two thousand two hundred and thirty millions and two hundred and seventy- 
two thousand, nearly three times the number of all the human inhabitants of 
the globe, but which Mr. Wilson reckons to be far below the actual amount. 
Were we to estimate the number of animals by the scale here afforded, it 
would amount to several hundreds or thousands of times more than what 
I have stated in the text. For if a single flock of the pigeons now alluded to 
in only one district of the earth, amounts to so prodigious a number, how 
many thousand times more must be the amount of the same species in all the 
regions of the globe ! In the above calculations, it is taken for granted that 
pigeons fly at the rate of from 30 to 60 miles an hour, and it is found by actual 
experiment that this is the case. In 1830, 110 pigeons were brought from 
Brussels to London, and were let fly on the 19th July, at a quarter before 
nine A. M. One reached Antwerp, 186 miles' distance, at 18 minutes past 
2, or in 5 1-2 hours, being at the rate of 34 miles an hour. Five more reached 
the same place within eight minutes afterward, and thirteen others in the 
course of eight hours after leaving London. Another went from London to 
Maestricht, 260 miles, in tix hours and a quarter, being at the rate of nearly 
42 miles an hour. The golden eagle sweeps through the atmosphere at the 
rate of 40 miles an hour, and it has been computed that the Swift flies, at an 
average, 500 miles a day, and yet finds time to feed, to clean itself, and to 
collect materials for its nest with apparent leisure. Such are the numbers of 
this species of animated beings, and such the powers of rapid motion which 
the Creator has conferred upon them, — powers which man, with all his intel- ' 
iectual faculties and inventions, has never yet been able to attain. 



BEx^EVOLENCE OF THE DEITY. 175 



Multiplicity of Ideas in the Divine Mind. 



for and nourished by his bounty ! " The eyes of all these look 
unto Him, and he openeth his hand and satisfieth the desire of 
every living being." He has so arranged the world, that every 
place affords the proper food for all the living creatures with 
which it abounds. He has furnished them with every organ and 
apparatus of instruments for the gathering, preparing, and digest- 
ing of their food, and has endowed them with admirable sagacity 
in finding out and providing their nourishment, and in enabling 
them to distinguish between what is salutary and what is per- 
nicious. In the exercise of these faculties, and in all their move- 
ments, they appear to experience a happiness suitable to their 
nature. The young of all animals in the exercise of their newly- 
acquired faculties — the fishes sporting in the waters, the birds 
skimming beneath the sky and warbling in the thickets, the game- 
some cattle browsing in the pastures, the wild deer bounding 
through the forests, the insects gliding through the air and along 
the ground, and even the earth-worms wriggling in the dust, — 
proclaim, by the vivacity of their movements and their various 
tones and gesticulations, that the exercise of their powers is con- 
nected with enjoyment. In this boundless scene of beneficence 
we behold a striking illustration of the declarations of the inspired 
writers, that " the Lord is good to all," — that " the earth is full of 
his riches," — and that "his tender mercies are over all his 
works." 

Such are a few evidences of the benevolence of the Deity as 
displayed in the arrangements of the material world. However 
plain and obvious they may appear to a reflecting mind, they are 
almost entirely overlooked by the bulk of mankind, owing to their 
ignorance of the facts of natural history and science, and the con- 
sequent inattention and apathy with which they are accustomed 
to view the objects of the visible creation. Hence they are inca- 
pacitated for appreciating the beneficent character of the Creator, 
and the riches of his munificence ; and incapable of feeling those 
emotions of admiration and gratitude which an enlightened con- 
templation of the scene of nature is calculated to inspire. 

4. An enlightened and comprehensive survey of the universe 
presents to us a view of the vast multiplicity of conceptions and 
the infinitely diversified ideas which have been formed in the Divine 
Mind. 

As the conceptions existing in the mind of an artificer are 
known by the instruments he constructs, or the operations he 
performs, so the ideas which have existed from eternity in the 
mind of the Creator are ascertained from the objects he has 
created, the events he has produced, and the operations he is 



176 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Variety of Nature. 



incessantly conducting. The formation of a single object is an 
exhibition of the idea existing in the Creating Mind, of which it 
is a copy. The formation of a second or a third object exactly 
resembling the first would barely exhibit the same ideas a second 
or a third time, without disclosing any thing new concerning the 
Creator ; and, consequently, our conceptions of his intelligence 
would not be enlarged, even although thousands and millions of 
such objects were presented to our view, — just as a hundred 
clocks and watches, exactly of the same kind, constructed by the 
same artist, give us no higher idea of his skill and ingenuity than 
the construction of one. But every variety in objects and arrange- 
ments exhibits a new discovery of the plans, contrivances, and 
intelligence of the Creator. 

Now in the universe we find all things constructed and arranged 
on the plan of boundless and universal variety. In the animal 
kingdom there have been actually ascertained, as already noticed, 
about sixty thousand different species of living creatures. There 
are about 600 species of mammalia, or animals that suckle their 
young, most of which are quadrupeds — 4000 species of birds, 
3000 species of fishes, 700 species of reptiles, and 44,000 species 
of insects.* Besides these, there are about 3000 species of 
shellfish, and perhaps not less than eighty or a hundred thousand 
species of animalcules invisible to the naked eye ; and new spe- 
cies are daily discovering, in consequence of the zeal and industry 
of the lovers of natural history. As the system of animated 
nature has never yet been thoroughly explored, we might safely 
reckon the number of species of animals of all kinds as amount- 
ing to at least three hundred thousand. We are next to consider 
that the organical structure of each species consists of an immense 
multitude of parts, and that all the species are infinitely diversi- 
fied — differing from each other in their forms, organs, members, 
faculties, and motions. They are of all shapes and sizes, from 
the microscopic animalculum, ten thousand times less than a mite, 
to the elephant and the whale. They are different in respect of 
the construction of their sensitive organs. In regard to the eye, 
some have this organ placed in the front, so as to look directly 
forward, as in man ; others have it so placed as to take in nearly 
a whole hemisphere, as in birds, hares, and conies ; some have it 
fixed, and others moveable ; some have two globes or balls, as 
quadrupeds ; some have jour, as snails, which are fixed in their 
horns ; some have eight, set like a locket of diamonds, as spi- 
ders ; some have several hundreds, as flies and beetles, and others 



* Six i of all these species are to be seen in the magnificent collec- 

tions in the museum of Natural History at. Paris. 



VARIETY OF ANIMAL FUNCTIONS. 177 

Respiration. 



above twenty thousand, as the dragon-fly and several species of 
butterflies. In regard to the ear, — some have it large, erect, and 
open, as in the hare, to hear the least approach of danger; in 
some it is covered to keep out noxious bodies ; and in others, as 
in the mole, it is lodged deep and backward in the head, and 
fenced and guarded from external injuries. With regard to their 
clothing, — some have their bodies covered with hair, as quadru- 
peds ; some with feathers, as birds ; some with scales, as fishes ; 
some with shells, as the tortoise ; some only with skin ; some 
with stout and firm armour, as the rhinoceros ; and others with 
prickles, as the hedgehog and porcupine — all nicely accommo- 
dated to the nature of the animal and the element in which it 
lives. These coverings, too, are adorned with diversified beau- 
ties ; as appears in the plumage of birds, the feathers of the pea- 
cock, the scales of the finny tribes, the hair of quadrupeds, and 
the variegated polish and colouring of the tropical shellfish — 
beauties which, in point of symmetry, polish, texture, variety, and 
exquisite colouring, mock every attempt of human art to copy or 
to imitate. 

In regard to respiration — some breathe through the mouth by 
means of lungs, as men and quadrupeds ; some by means of 
gills, as fishes; and some by organs placed in other parts of their 
bodies, as insects. In regard to the circulation of the blood, 
some have but one ventricle in the heart, some two, and others 
three. In some animals the heart throws its blood to the re- 
motest parts of the system ; in some it throws it only into the re- 
spiratory organs; in others, the blood from the respiratory organs 
is carried by the veins to another heart, and this second heart 
distributes the blood by the channel of its arteries to the several 
parts. In many insects, a number of hearts are placed at inter- 
vals on the circulating course, and each renews the impulse of 
the former where the momentum of the blood fails. In regard to 
the movements of their bodies — some are endowed with swift mo- 
tions, and others with slow; some walk on two legs, as fowls; 
some on four, as dogs ; some on eight, as caterpillars ; some on a 
hundred, as scolopendrse or millepedes ; some on fifteen hundred 
and twenty feet, as one species of sea-star ; and some on two 
thousand feet, as a certain species of echinus.* Some glide 
along with a sinuous motion on scales, as snakes and serpents ; 
some skim through the air, one species on two wings, another on 
four ; and some convey themselves with speed and safety by the 

* See Lyonet's notes to Lesser's Insecto-theology, who also mentions that 
these echini have 1300 horns, similar to those of snails, which they can put 
out and draw in at pleasure. 



178 OX THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Various Components of the Human System. 



help of their webs, as spiders ; while others glide with agility 
through the waters by means of their tails and fins. But it would 
require volumes to enumerate and explain all the known varieties 
which distinguish the different species of animated beings. Be- 
sides the varieties of the species, there are not, perhaps, of all 
the hundreds of millions which compose any one species, two 
individuals precisely alike in every point of view in which they 
may be contemplated. 

As an example of the numerous parts and functions which en- 
ter into the construction of an animal frame, it may be stated that 
in the human body there are 445 bones, each of them having forty 
distinct scopes or intentions ; and 246 muscles, each having ten 
several intentions ; so that the system of bones and muscles alone 
includes above 14,200 varieties, or different intentions and adap- 
tations. But, besides the bones and muscles, there are hundreds 
of tendons and ligaments for the purpose of connecting them to- 
gether ; hundreds of nerves ramified over the whole body to con- 
vey sensation to all its parts; thousands of arteries to convey 
the blood to the remotest extremities, and thousands of veins to 
bring it back to the heart ; thousands of lacteal and lymphatic 
vessels to absorb nutriment from the food ; thousands of glands 
to secrete humours from the blood, and of emunctories to throw 
them off from the system — and, besides many other parts of this 
variegated system, and functions with which we are unacquainted, 
there are more than sixteen hundred millions of membraneous 
cells or vesicles connected with the lungs, more than two hundred 
thousand millions of pores in the skin, through which the perspi- 
ration is incessantly flowing, and above a thousand millions of 
scales, which according to Leeuwenhoek, Baker, and others, 
compose the cuticle or outward covering of the body. We have 
also to take into the account the compound organs of life, the 
numerous parts of which they consist, and the diversified func- 
tions they perform ; such as the brain, with its infinite number of 
fibres and numerous functions ; the heart, with its auricles and 
ventricles ; the stomach, with its juices and muscular coats ; the 
liver, with its lobes and glands; the spleen, with its infinity of 
cells and membranes ; the pancreas, with its juice and numerous 
glands ; the kidneys, with their fine capillary tubes ; the intes- 
tines, with all their turnings and convolutions ; the organs of 
sense, with their multifarious connexions ; the mesentery, the 
gall-bladder, the ureters, the pylorus, the duodenum, the blood, 
the bile, the lymph, the saliva, the chyle, the hairs, the nails, and 
numerous other parts and substances, every one of which has 
diversified functions to perform. We have also to take into con- 



VARIETY OF ANIMAL FUNCTIONS. 179 

Complication of the Human System. 

sideration the number of ideas included in the arrangement and 
connexion of all these parts, and in the manner in which they are 
compacted into one system of small dimensions, so as to afford 
free scope for all the intended functions. If, then, for the sake 
of a rude calculation, we were to suppose, in addition to the 
14,200 adaptations stated above, that there are 10,000 veins great 
and small, 10,000 arteries, 10,000 nerves,* 1000 ligaments, 4000 
lacteals and lymphatics, 100,000 glands, 1,600,000,000 vesicles 
in the lungs, 1,000,000,000 scales, and 200,000,000,000 of pores, 
the amount would be 202,600,149,200 different parts and adap- 
tations in the human body ; and if all the other species were 
supposed to be differently organized, and to consist of a si- 
milar number of parts, this number multiplied by 300,000, the 
supposed number of species — the product would amount to 
€0,780,044,760,000,000, or above sixty thousand billions,— the 
number of distinct ideas, conceptions, or contrivances, in rela- 
tion to the animal world — a number of which we can have no 
precise conception, and which, to limited minds like ours, seems 
to approximate to something like infinity ; but it may tend to con- 
vey a rude idea of the endless multiplicity of conceptions which 
pervade the Eternal Mind. 

That many other tribes of animated nature have an organiza- 
tion no less complicated and diversified than that of man, will 
appear from the following statements of M. Lyonet. This cele- 
brated naturalist wrote a treatise on one single insect, the cossus 
caterpillar, which lives on the leaves of the willow, — in which he 
has shown, from the anatomy of that minute animal, that its struc- 
ture is almost as complicated as that of the human body, and 
many of the parts which enter into its organization even more 
numerous. He has found it necessary to employ tiventy figures 
to explain the organization of the head, which contains 228 differ- 
ent muscles. There are 1647 muscles in the body, and 2066 in 
the intestinal tube ; making in all 3941 muscles, or nearly nine 
times the number of muscles in the human body. There are 
94 principal nerves which divide into innumerable ramifications. 
There are two large tracheal arteries, one at the right and the other 
at the leftside of the insect, each of them communicating with the 
air by means of nine spiracula. Round each spiraculum the 

* The amazing extent of the ramification of the veins and nerves may be 
judged of from this circumstance, that neither the point of the smallest needle 
nor the infinitely finer lance of a gnat can pierce any part without drawing 
blood, and causing an uneasy sensation, consequently without wounding, by 
bo small a puncture, both a nerve and a vein ; and therefore the number of 
these vessels here assumed may be considered as far below the truth. 



ISO ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



The Vegetable Kingdom. 



trachea pushes forth a great number of branches, which are again 
divided into smaller ones, and these further subdivide and spread 
through the whole body of the caterpillar : they are naturally of a 
silver colour, and make a beautiful appearance. The principal 
tracheal vessels divide into 1326 different branches. All this 
complication of delicate machinery, with numerous other parts and 
organs, are compressed into a body only about two inches in length. 

Were we to direct our attention to the vegetable kingdom, we 
might contemplate a scene no less variegated and astonishing than 
what appears in the animal world. There have already been dis- 
covered more than fifty-six thousand species of plants, specimens 
of all which may be seen in the Museum of JNJatural History at 
Paris. But we cannot reckon the actual number of species in the 
earth and seas at less than jour or five hundred thousand. They 
are of all sizes, from the invisible forests which are seen in apiece 
of mouldiness, by the help of the microscope, to the cocoas of 
Malabar fifty feet in circumference, and the banians, whose shoots 
cover a circumference of five acres of ground. Each of them is 
furnished with a complicated system of vessels for the circulation 
of its juices, the secretion of its odours, and other important func- 
tions somewhat analogous to those of animals. Almost every 
vegetable consists of a root, trunk, branches, leaves, skin, bark, 
pith, sap-vessels, or system of arteries and veins, glands for per- 
spiration, flowers, petals, stamina, farina, seed-case, seed, fruit, 
and various other parts ; and these are different in their construc- 
tion and appearance in the different species. Some plants, as the 
oak, are distinguished for their strength and hardiness ; others, as 
the elm and fir, are tall and slender ; some are tall, like the cedar 
of Lebanon, while others never attain to any considerable height : 
some have a rough and uneven bark, while others are smooth and 
fine, as the birch, the maple, and the poplar ; some are so slight 
and delicate that the least wind may overturn them, while others 
can resist the violence of the northern blasts ; some acquire their 
full growth in a few years, while others grow to a prodigious 
height and size, and stand unshaken amid the lapse of centuries; 
some drop their leaves in autumn, and remain for months like 
blighted trunks, while others retain their verdure amid the most 
furious blasts of winter; some have leaves scarcely an inch in 
length or breadth, while cmers, as the tallipot of Ceylon, have 
leaves so large that one cithern, it is said, will shelter fifteen or 
twenty men from the rain. 

The variety in the vegetable kingdom in respect of flowers is ap- 
parent even to the least attentive observer. Every species is differ- 
ent from another in the form and hues which it exhibits. The 



VARIETY IN THE MINERAL KINGDOM. 181 



Wisdom of God in the Mineral Kingdom. 



carnation differs from the rose, the rose from the tulip, the tulip 
from the auricula, the auricula from the lily, the lily from the nar- 
cissus, and the rununculus from the daisy. At the same time, 
each rununculus, daisy, rose or tulip, has its own particular cha- 
racter and beauty, something that is peculiar to itself, and in 
which it is distinguished from its fellows. In a bed of rununcu- 
luses or tulips, for example, we shall scarcely find two individuals 
that have precisely the same aspect, or present the same assem- 
blage of colours. Some flowers are of a stately size, and seem 
to reign over their fellows in the same parterre, others are lowly 
or creep along the ground ; some exhibit the most dazzling co- 
lours, others are simple and blush almost unseen ; some perfume 
the air with exquisite odours, while others only please the sight 
with their beautiful tints. Not only the forms and colours of 
flowers, but their perfumes, are different. The odour of southern- 
wood differs from that of thyme, that of peppermint from balm, 
and that of the daisy from the rose, which indicates a variety in 
their internal structure, and in the juices that circulate within them. 
The leaves of all vegetables, like the skin of the human body, are 
diversified with a multitude of extremely fine vessels, and an as- 
tonishing number of pores. In a kind of box-tree called Talma 
Cereres, it has been observed that there are above a hundred and 
seventy-two thousand pores on one single side of the leaf. In 
short, the whole earth is covered with vegetable life in such pro- 
fusion and variety as astonishes the contemplative mind. Not 
only the fertile plains, but the rugged mountains, the hardest 
stones, the most barren spots, and even the caverns of the ocean, 
are diversified with plants of various kinds ; and, from the torrid 
to the frigid zone, every soil and every climate has plants and 
flowers peculiar to itself. To attempt to estimate their number 
and variety would be to attempt to dive into the depths of infinity. 
Yet every diversity in the species, every variety in the form of 
the individuals, and even every difference in the shade and com- 
bination of colour in flowers of the same species, exhibits a dis- 
tinct conception which must have existed in the Divine Mind be- 
fore the vegetable kingdom was created. 

Were we to take a survey of the mineral kingdom, we should 
also behold a striking exhibition of the "manifold wisdom of God." 
It is true, indeed, that we cannot penetrate into the interior re- 
cesses of the globe, so as to ascertain the substances which exist, 
and the processes which are going on near its central regions. 
But, within a few hundreds of fathoms of its surface, we find such 
an astonishing diversity of mineral substances, as clearly shows 
that its internal parts have been constructed on the same plan of 
16 



1S2 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Different Classes of Minerals. 



variety as that of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. In the 
classes of earthy, saline, inflammable, and metallic fossils, under 
which mineralogists have arranged the substances of the mineral 
kingdom, are contained an immense number of genera and spe- 
cies. Under the earthy class of fossils are comprehended dia- 
monds, chrysolites, menilites, garnets, zeolites, corundums, agates, 
jaspers, opals, pearl-stones, tripoli, clay-slate, basalt, lava, chalk, 
limestone, ceylanite, strontian, barytes,celestine, and various other 
substances. The saline class comprehends such substances as 
the following, — natron or natural soda, rock-salt, nitre, alum, sal- 
ammoniac, Epsom salt, &c. The class of inflammable sub- 
stances comprehends sulphur, carbon, bitumen, coal, amber, char- 
coal, naphtha, petroleum, asphalt, caoutchouc, mineral tar, &c. 
The metallic class comprehends platina, gold, silver, mercury, 
copper, iron, lead, tin, bismuth, zinc, antimony, cobalt, nickel, 
manganese, molybdenum, arsenic, scheele, menachanite, uran, 
silvan chromium, tungsten, uranium, titanium, tellurium, sodium, 
potassium, &c. All these mineral substances are distinguished 
by many varieties of species. There are eight genera of earthy 
fossils. One of these genera, the flint, contains 34 species, be- 
sides numerous varieties, such a3 chrysoberyls, topazes, agates, 
beryls, quartz, emery, diamond spar, &c. Another genus, the 
clay, contains 32 species, such as opal, pitch-stone, felspar, black 
chalk, mica, hornblende, &c. ; and another, the calc, contains 20 
species, as limestone, chalk, slate, spar, fluor, marie, boracite, 
loam, &c. There are ten species of silver, five of mercury, se- 
venteen of copper, fourteen of iron, ten of lead, six of antimony, 
three of bismuth, &c. All the bodies of the mineral kingdom differ 
from one another as to figure, transparency, hardness, lustre, ducti- 
lity, texture, structure, feel, sound, smell, taste, gravity, and their 
magnetical and electrical properties ; and they exhibit almost 
every variety of colour. Some of those substances are soft and 
pulverable, and serve as a bed for the nourishment of vegetables, 
as black earth, chalk, clay, and marl. Some are solid, as lead 
and iron ; and some are fluid, as mercury, sodium, and potassium. 
Some are brittle, as antimony and bismuth, and some are mallea- 
ble, as silver and tin. Some are subject to the attraction of the 
magnet, others are conductors of the electric fire ; some are ea- 
sily fusible by heat, others will resist the strongest heat of our 
common fires. Some are extremely ductile, as platina, the hea- 
viest of the metals, which has been drawn into wires less than 
the two thousandth part of an inch in diameter, — and gold, the 
parts of which are so fine and expansible, that an ounce of it is 
sufficient to gild a silver wire more than 1300 miles long. 



VARIETY IN THE MINERAL KINGDOM. 183 



Beauties of Minerals. 



In order to acquire the most impressive idea of the mineral 
kingdom, we must visit an extensive mineralogical museum, 
where the spectator will be astonished both at the beauty and the 
infinite diversity which the Creator has exhibited in this depart- 
ment of nature. Here it may be also noticed, that not only the 
external aspect of minerals, but also the interior configuration of 
many of them, displays innumerable beauties and varieties. A 
rough dark-looking pebble, which to an incurious eye appears 
only like a fragment of common rock, when cut asunder and 
polished, presents an assemblage of the finest veins and most 
brilliant colours. If we go into a lapidary's shop, and take a 
leisurely survey of his jaspers, topazes, cornelians, agates, 
garnets, and other stones, we cannot fail to be struck with admi- 
ration, not only at the exquisite polish and the delicate wavings 
which their surfaces present, but at the variety of design and 
colouring exhibited even by individuals of the same species, the 
latent beauties and diversities of which require the assistance of a 
microscope to discern, and are beyond the efforts of the most 
exquisite pencil fully to imitate. 

Not only in the objects which are visible to the unassisted eye, 
but also in those which can only be perceived by the help of micro- 
scopes, is the characteristic of variety to be seen. In the scales of 
fishes, for example, we perceive an infinite number of diversified 
specimens of the most curious workmanship. Some of these are 
of a longish form, some round, some triangular, some square ; in 
short, of all imaginable variety of shapes. Some are armed with 
sharp prickles, as in the perch and sole; some have smooth 
edges, as in the tench and codfish ; and even in the same fish 
there is a considerable variety ; for the scales taken from the 
belly, the back, the sides, the head, and other parts, are all differ- 
ent from each other. In the scale of a perch we perceive one 
piece of delicate mechanism, in the scale of a haddock another, 
and in the scale of a sole beauties different from both. We find 
some of them ornamented with a prodigious number of concen- 
tric flutings, too near each other and too fine to be easily enume- 
rated. These flutings are frequently traversed by others diverging 
from the centre of the scale, and proceeding from thence in a 
straight line to the circumference. On every fish there are many 
thousands of these variegated pieces of mechanism. The hairs 
on the bodies of all animals are found, by the microscope, to be 
composed of a number of extremely minute tubes, each of which 
has a round bulbous root, by which it imbibes its proper nourish- 
ment from the adjacent humours, and these are all different in 
different animals. Hairs taken from the head, the eyebrows, the 



184 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Ramifications of Leaves. 

nostrils, the beard, the hand, and other parts of the body, are 
unlike to each other, both in the construction of the roots and 
the hairs themselves — and appear as varied as plants of the same 
genus but of different species. The parts of which the feathers 
of birds are composed afford a beautiful variety of the most 
exquisite workmanship. There is scarcely a feather but contains 
a million of distinct parts, every one of them regularly shaped. 
In a small fibre of a goose-quill, more than 1200 downy branches 
or small leaves have been counted on each side, and each 
appeared divided into 16 or 18 small joints. A small part of the 
feather of a peacock, one-thirtieth of an inch in length, appears 
no less beautiful than the whole feather does to the naked eye, 
exhibiting a multitude of bright shining parts, reflecting first one 
colour and then another in the most vivid manner. The ivings 
of all kind of insects, too, present an infinite variety, no less cap- 
tivating to the mind than pleasing to the eye. They appear 
strengthened and distended by the finest bones, and covered with 
the lightest membranes. Some of them are adorned with neat 
and beautiful feathers, and many of them provided with the finest 
articulations and foldings for the wings, when they are withdrawn 
and about to be folded up in their cases. The thin membranes 
of the wings appear beautifully divaricated with thousands of little 
points, like silver studs. The wings of some flies are filmy, as 
the dragon-fly ; others have them stuck over with short bristles, 
as the flesh-fly ; some have rows of feathers along their ridges, 
and borders round their edge, as in gnats ; some have hairs, and 
others have hooks placed with the greatest regularity and order. 
In the wings of moths and butterflies there are millions of small 
feathers of different shapes, diversified with the greatest variety of 
bright and vivid colours, each of them so small as to be altoge- 
ther invisible to the naked eye. 

The leaves of all plants and flow r ers, when examined by the 
microscope, are found to be full of innumerable ramifications that 
convey the perspirable juices to the pores, and to consist of 
parenchymous and ligneous fibres, interwoven in a curious and 
admirable manner. The smallest leaf, even one which is little 
more than visible to the naked eye, is found to be thus divari- 
cated, and the variegations are different in the leaves of different 
vegetables. — A transverse section of a plant not more than one- 
fourth of an inch in diameter displays such beauties and varieties, 
through a powerful microscope, as cannot be conceived without 
ocular inspection. The number of pores, of all sizes, amounting 
to hundreds of thousands (which appear to be the vessels of the 
plant cut asunder), the beautiful curves they assume, and the 



VARIETY IN MICROSCOPICAL OBJECTS. 1S5 

Microscopic Animalculae. 



radial and circular configurations they present, are truly astonish- 
ing ; and every distinct species of plants exhibits a different con- 
figuration. I have counted in a small section of a plant, of the 
size now stated, 5000 radial lines, each containing about 250 
pores, great and small, which amounts to one million hvo hundred 
and fifty thousand of these variegated apertures. — Even the 
particles of sand on the seashore, and on the banks of rivers, 
differ in size form, and colour of their grains ; some being trans- 
parent, others opaque — some having rough and others smooth 
surfaces ; some are spherical or oval, and some pyramidal, conical, 
or prismatical. Mr. Hook, happening to view some grains of white 
sand through his microscope, hit upon one of the grains which 
was exactly shaped and wreathed like a shell, though it was no 
larger than the point of a pin. " It resembled the shell of a small 
water-snail, and had twelve wreathings, all growing proportionably 
one less than the other towards the middle or centre of the shell, 
where there was a very small round white spot." This gives 
us an idea of the existence of shellfish which are invisible to the 
naked eye, and consequently smaller than a mite. 

The variety of forms in which animal life appears, in those 
invisible departments of creation which the microscope has enabled 
us to explore, is truly wonderful and astonishing. Microscopic 
animals are so different from those of the larger kinds, that scarcely 
any analogy seems to exist between them ; and one would be 
almost tempted to suppose that they lived in consequence of laws 
directly opposite to those which preserve man and the other larger 
animals in existence. When we endeavour to explore this region 
of animated nature, we feel as if we were entering on the confines 
of a new world, and surveying a new race of sentient existence. 
The number of these creatures exceeds all human calculation. 
Many hundreds of species, all differing in their forms, habits, and 
motions, have already been detected and described, but we have 
reason to believe, that by far the greater part is unexplored, and 
perhaps for ever hid from the view of man. They are of ah 1 
shapes and forms : some of them appear like minute atoms, some 
like globes and spheroids, some like hand-bells, some like wheels 
turning on an axis, some like double-headed monsters, some like 
cylinders, some have a worm-like appearance, some have horns, 
some resemble eels, some are like long hairs, 150 times as long 
a3 they are broad, some like spires and cupolas, some like fishes, 
and some like animated vegetables. Some of them are almost 
visible to the naked eye, and some so small that the breadth of a 
human hair would cover fifty or a hundred of them, and others 
so minute that millions of millions of them might be contained 
16* 



1S6 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Microscopic Animalculae. 



within the compass of a square inch. In every pond and ditch, 
and almost in every puddle, in the infusions of pepper, straw, 
grass, oats, hay, and other vegetables, in paste and vinegar, and 
in the water found in oysters, on almost every plant and flower, 
and in the rivers, seas, and oceans, these creatures are found in 
such numbers and variety as almost to exceed our conception or 
belief. A class of these animals, called Medusoz, has been found 
so numerous as to discolour the ocean itself. Captain Scoresby 
found the number in the olive-green sea to be immense. A cubic 
inch contained sixty-four, and consequently a cubic mile would 
contain 23,S88,000,000,000,000 ; so that, if one person should 
count a million in seven days, it would have required that 80,000 
persons should have started at the creation of the world to have 
completed the enumeration at the present time. Yet, all the 
minute animals to which we now allude are furnished with nu- 
merous organs of life as well as the larger kind, some of their 
internal movements are distinctly visible, their motions are evi- 
dently voluntary, and some of them appear to be possessed of a 
considerable degree of sagacity, and to be fond of each other's 
society.* 

In short, it may be affirmed without the least hesitation, that the 
beauties and varieties which exist in those regions of creation 
which are invisible to the unassisted eye, are far more numerous 
than all that appears to a common observer in the visible econo- 
my of nature. How far this scene of creating power and intelli- 
gence may extend beyond the range of our microscopic instru- 
ments, it is impossible for mortals to determine ; for the finer our 
glasses are, and the higher the magnifying powers we apply, the 
more numerous and varied are the objects which they exhibit to 

our view. And as the largest telescope is insufficient to convey 

. 

* The following extract from Mr. Baker's description of the hair-like ani- 
malcule will illustrate some of these positions. A small quantity of the mat- 
ter containing these animalcules having been put into a jar of water, it so 
happened that one part went down immediately to the bottom, while the other 
continued floating on the top. When things had remained for some time in 
this condition, each of these swarms of animalcules began to grow weary of 
its situation, and had a mind to change its quarters. Both armies, therefore, 
set out at the same time, the one proceeding upwards and the other down- i 
wards ; so that after some time they met in the middle. A desire of knowing 
how they would behave on this occasion engaged the observer to watch them | 
carefully ; and to his surprise, he saw the army that was marching upwards 
open to the right and Left, to make room for those that were descending. I 
Thus, without confusion or intermixture, each held on its way ; the army 
that was going up marching in two columns to the top, and the other proceed- 
ing in one column to the bottom, as if each had been under the direction of i 
wise leaders. 



VARIETY IN THE SYSTEM OF NATURE. 1S9 



Whale and Animalcule. 



our views to the boundaries of the great universe, so we may 
justly conclude that the most powerful microscope that has been 
or ever will be constructed, will be altogether insufficient to guide 
our views to the utmost limits of the descending scale of crea- 
tion. But what we already know of these unexplored and in- 
explorable regions, gives us an amazing conception of the intel- 
ligence and wisdom of the Creator, of the immensity of his nature, 
and of the infinity of ideas which, during every portion of past 
duration, must have been present before his all-comprehensive 
mind. What an immense space in the scale of animal life inter- 
venes between an animalcule, which appears only the size of a 
visible point, when magnified 500,000 times, and a whale, a hun- 
dred feet long and twenty broad ! The proportion of bulk be- 
tween the one of these beings and the other is nearly as 34,560- 
000,000,000,000,000 to 1. Yet all the intermediate space is filled 
up with animated beings of every form and order ! A similar va- 
riety obtains in the vegetable kingdom. It has been calculated, 
that some plants which grow on rose leaves, and other shrubs, are 
so small that it would require more than a thousand of them to equal 
in bulk a single plant of moss ; and if we compare a stem of moss, 

1 which is generally not above one-sixtieth of an inch, with some 
of the large trees in Guinea and Brazil of twenty feet diameter, 
we shall find the bulk of the one will exceed that of the other, no 
less than 2,985,984,000,000 times, which multiplied by 1000 will 

j produce 2,985,984,000,000,000, the number of times which the 

v large tree exceeds the rose-leaf plant. Yet this immense interval 
j is filled up with plants and trees of every size ! With good reason, 

L then, may we adopt the language of the inspired writers, — " How 
manifold are thy works, O Lord ! In wisdom hast thou made 
them all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the 
knowledge of God ! Marvellous things doth He which we cannot 
comprehend."* 

* The figures of microscopical objects contained in the engravings Nos. I. 
and II. will convey a rude idea of some of the objects to which I have now 
alluded. 

No. I. Fig. 1, represents the scale of a sole-fish as it appears through a good 
microscope. CDEF represents that part of the scale which appears on the 
outside of the fish, and ABCD the part which adheres to the skin, heing fur- 
rowed, that it may hold the faster. It is terminated by pointed spikes, every 
alternate one being longer than the interjacent ones. Fig. 2 is the scale of a 
haddock, which appears divaricated like a piece of network. Fig. 3 repre- 
sents a small portion or fibre of the feather of a peacock, only one-thirtieth of 
an inch in extent, as it appears in the microscope. The small fihres of these 
feathers appear, through this instrument, no less beautiful than the whole 
feather does to the naked eye. Each of the sprigs or hairs on each side of the 
fibre, as CD, DC, appears to consist of a multitude of bright shining parts, 



190 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

- ■ — - ■ -^ 

Explanation of the Figures. 

Even the external aspect of nature, as it appears to a superfi- 
cial observer, presents a scene of variety. The ranges of moun- 

which arc a congeries of small plates, as eee, &c. The under sides of each of 
these plates are very dark and opaque, reflecting all the rays thrown upon 
them like the foil of a looking-glass ; but their upper sides seem to consist of 
a multitude of exceedingly thin plated bodies, lying close together, which, by 
various positions of the light, reflect first one colour and then another, in a 
most vivid and surprising manner. Fig. 4, 5, 6, 7, represent some of the differ- 
ent kinds of feathers which constitute the dust which adheres to the. wings of 
moths and butterflies, and which, in the microscope, appear tinged with a va- 
riety of colours. Each of these feathers is an object so small as to be scarcely 
perceptible to the naked eye. 

Explanation of the figures on No. II. — Fig. 1 represents a mite, which has eight 
legs, with five or six joints on each, two feelers, a small head in proportion to 
its body, a sharp snout and mouth like that of a mole, and two little eyes. 
The body is of an oval form, with a number of hairs like bristles issuing from 
it, and the legs terminate in two hooked claws. Fig. 2 represents a micros- 
copic animal which was found in an infusion of anemony. The surface of its 
back is covered with a fine mask, in the form of a human face ; it has 
three feet on each side, and a tail which comes out from under the 
mask. Fig. 3 is an animalcula found in an infusion of old hay. A 
shows the head, with the mouth opened w T ide, and its lips furnished 
with numerous hairs ; B is its forked tail, D its intestines, and C its 
heart, which may be seen in regular motion. The circumference of the 
body appears indented like the teeth of a saw. Fig. 4 shows the Wheel-ani- 
mal or Vorticella. It is found in rain-water that has stood some days in 
leaden gutters, or in hollows of lead on the tops of houses. The most remark- 
able part of this animalcula is its wheel-work, which consists of two semicir- 
cular instruments, round the edges of which many little fibrillae move them- 
selves very briskly, sometimes with a kind of rotation, and sometimes in a 
trembling or vibratory manner. Sometimes the wheels seem to be entire cir- 
cles, with teeth like those of the balance-wheel of a watch; but their figure 
varies according to the degree of their protrusion, and seems to depend upon 
the will of the animal itself; a is the head and wheels, b is the heart, where 
its systole and diastole are plainly visible, and the alternate motions of con- 
traction and dilation are performed with great strength and vigour, in about 
the same time as the pulsation of a man's artery. This animal assumes va- 
rious shapes, one of which is represented in Fig. 5, and becomes occasionally 
a case for all the other parts of the body. 

Fig. 6 represents an insect xoith net-like arms. It is found in cascades, 
where the water runs very swift. Its body appears curiously turned as on a 
lathe, and at the tail are three sharp spines, by which it raises itself and 
stands upright in the water ; but the most curious apparatus is about its 
head, where it is furnished with two instruments, like fans, or nets, which 
serve to provide its food. These it frequently spreads out and draws in again, 
and, when drawn up, they are folded together with the utmost nicety and 
exactness. When this creature does not employ its nets, it thrusts out a pair 
of sharp horns, and puts on a different appearance, as in Fig. 7, where it is 
shown magnified at about 400 times. Fig. 8 is the representation of an ani- 
malcula found in the infusion of the bark of an oak. Its body is composed of 
several ringlets, that enter one into another, as the animal contracts itself. 
At ab, are two lips furnished, with moveable hairs ; it pushes out of its mouth 
a snout composed of several pieces sheathed in each other, as at e. A kind 
of horn d is sometimes protruded from the breast, composed of furbelows. 



VARIETY IN THE SYSTEM OF NATURE. 193 



Beauty and Sublimity of Nature. 



tains with summits of different heights and shapes, the hills and 
plains, the glens and dells, the waving curves which appear on the 
face of every landscape, the dark hues of the forests, the verdure 
of the fields, the towering cliffs, the rugged precipices, the rills, the 
rivers, the cataracts, the lakes and seas ; the gulfs, the bays, the 
peninsulas ; the numerous islands of every form and size which 
diversify the surface of the ocean, and the thousands of shades of 
colouring which appear on every part of sublunary nature, pre- 
sent a scene of diversified beauty and sublimity to the eye of 
every beholder. — And if we lift our eyes to the regions of the 



which slide into one another like the drawers of a pocket telescope. Fig. 
9 is another animalcula, found in the same infusion, called a tortoise, with an 
umbilical tail. It stretches out and contracts itself very easily, sometimes 
assuming a round figure, which it retains only for a moment, then opens its 
mouth to a surprising width, forming nearly the circumference of a circle. Its 
motion is very surprising and singular. Fig. 10 is an animalcula, called great 
mouth, which is found in several infusions. Its mouth takes up half the length 
of its body ; its inside is filled with darkish spots, and its hinder part termi- 
nated with a singular tail. Fig. 11 represents the proteus, so named on ac- 
count of its assuming a great number of different shapes. Its most common 
shape bears a resemblance to that of a swan, and it swims to and fro with 
great vivacity. When it is alarmed, it suddenly draws in its long neck, 
transforming itself into the shape represented at m, and at other times it puts 
forth a new head and neck witli a kind of wheel-machinery, as at n. Fig. 
12 exhibits a species of animalcula shaped like bells with long tails, by which 
they fasten themselves to the roots of duck-iveed, in which they were found. 
They dwell in colonies, from ten to fifteen in number. Fig. 13 is the globe 
animal, which appears exactly globular, having no appearance of either head, 
tail, or fins. It moves in all directions, forwards or backwards, up or down, 
either rolling over and over like a bowl, spinning horizontally like a top, or 
gliding along smoothly without turning itself at all. When it pleases, it can 
turn round, as it were, upon an axis, very nimbly, without removing out of its 
place. It is transparent, except where the circular black spots are shown ; it 
sometimes appears as if dotted with points, and beset with short moveable 
hairs or bristles, w r hich are probably the instruments by which its motions are 
performed. Fig. 14 shows a species of animalcula called soles, found in in- 
fusions of straw and the ears of wheat ; o is the mouth, which is sometimes ex- 
tended to a great width, p is the tail. Fig. 15 represents an animal found in 
an infusion of citron flowers. Its head is very short, and adorned with two 
horns like those of a deer; its body appears to be covered with scales, and 
its tail long, and swift in motion. Fig. 16 represents the eels which are found 
in paste and stale vinegar. The most remarkable property of these animals 
is, that they are viviparous. If one of them is cut through near the middle, 
several oval bodies of different sizes issue forth, which are young anguillae, 
each coiled up in its proper membrane. A hundred and upwards of the 
young ones have been seen to issue from the body of the single eel, which ac- 
counts for their prodigious increase. 

It may not be improper to remark, that no engraving can give an adequate 
idea of the objects referred to above ; and, therefore, whoever wishes to in- 
spect nature in all her minute beauties and varieties must have recourse to the 
microsccope itself, 
17 



194 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Beauty and Sublimity of Nature. 



firmament, we likewise behold a scene of sublimity and grandeur, 
mingled with variety. The sun himself appears diversified with 
spots of various shapes and sizes, some a hundred, some a thou- 
sand, and some ten thousand miles in diameter — indicating ope- 
rations and changes of amazing extent — and almost every new 
revolution on his axis presents us with new and varied clusters. 
Every planet in the solar system differs from another in its size, 
in its spheroidal shape, in its diurnal rotation, in the aspect of its 
surface, in the constitution of its atmosphere, in the number of 
moons with which it is surrounded, in the nature of its seasons, 
in its distance from the sun, in the eccentricity of its orbit, in the 
period of its annual revolution, and in the proportion it receives 
light and heat. Every comet, too, differs from«another in its 
form and magnitude, in the extent of its nucleus and tail, in the 
period of its revolution, in the swiftness of its motion, and in the 
figure of the curve it describes around the sun ; and " one star 
dwereth from another star in glory." But could we transport 
ourselves to the surfaces of these distant orbs, and survey every 
part of their constitution and arrangements, we should, doubtless, 
behold beauties and varieties of Divine workmanship far more 
numerous, and surpassing every thing that appears in our sublu- 
nary system. We have every reason to believe, from the infi- 
nite nature of the Divinity, and from what we actually behold, 
that the mechanism and arrangements of eveiy world in the uni- 
verse are all different from each other ; and we find that this is 
actually the case, in so far as our observations extend. The 
moan is the principal orb on whose surface particular observa- 
tions can be made ; and we find that its arrangements are mate- 
rially different from those of the earth. It has no large rivers, 
seas, or oceans, nor clouds such as ours to diversify its atmos- 
phere. It has mountains and plains, hills and vales, insulated 
rocks and caverns of every size and shape ; but the form and 
arrangement of all these objects are altogether different 
from what it obtains in our terrestrial sphere. — While, on our 
globe, the ranges of mountains run nearly in a line from east to 
west, or from north to south, — on the surface of the moon they 
are formed for the most part into circular ridges, enclosing, like 
ramparts, plains of all dimensions, from half a mile to forty miles 
in diameter. While, on earth, the large plains are nearly level, 
and diversified merely with gentle wavings, — in the moon, there 
are hundreds of plains of various dimensions, sank, as it were, 
nearly two miles below the general level of its surface. On this 
orb we behold insulated mountains, more than two miles in ele- 
vation, standing alone, like monuments, in the midst of plains, — 



VARIETY IN THE HEAVENS* 195 

Power of the Creator. 



circular basins or caverns, both in the valleys and on the summits 
and declivities of mountains, and these caverns, again, indented 
with similar ones of a similar form ; at the same time, there are 
plains far more level and extensive than on the earth. On the 
whole, the mountain-scenery on the lunar surface is far more di- 
versified and magnificent than on our globe, and differs as much 
from terrestrial landscapes as the wastes and wilds of America 
from the cultivated plains of Europe. In short, while on the 
earth the highest mountains are little more than four miles in 
height, on some of the planets mountains have been discovered, 
which astronomers have reckoned to be twenty-two miles in 
elevation. 

If, then, it is reasonable to believe, that all the worlds in the 
universe are different in their construction and arrangements, and 
peopled with beings of diversified ranks and orders — could we 
survey only a small portion of the universal system — what an 
amazing scene would it display of the conceptions of the Divine 
Mind and of " the manifold Wisdom of God!" Such views, there- 
fore, of the variety of nature are evidently calculated to expand 
our conceptions of the Divine character, to excite us to admiration 
and reverence, to extend our views of the riches of Divine Bene- 
ficence, and to enlarge our hopes of the glories and felicities of 
that future " inheritance which is incorruptible, and which fadeth 
not away." 

5. The contemplation of nature, through the medium of science, 
is calculated to expand our conceptions of the power of the Deity , 
and the magnificence of his empire. The power of God is mani- 
fested by its effects ; and in proportion as our knowledge of these 
effects is enlarged, will our conceptions of this attribute of the 
Divinity be expanded. To create a single object implies an ex- 
ertion of Power which surpasses finite comprehension : how 
much more the creation and arrangement of such a vast multipli- 
city of objects as those to which we have just now adverted ! For, 
all that immense variety of beings which exists in the animal, 
vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and in the invisible regions 
which the microscope has explored, evinces the Omnipotence of 
the Deity, no less than his Wisdom and Intelligence. But the 
magnitude, as well as the number and variety, of the objects of 
Creation displays the Almighty Power of the Creator. In this 
point of view, the discoveries of modern astronomy tend to aid our 
conceptions of the grandeur of this Perfection, and to extend our 
views of the range of its operations far beyond what former ages 
could have imagined. When we take a leisurely survey of the 
globe on which we dwell, and consider the enormous masses of 



196 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



The Sun. 



its continents and islands, the quantity of water in its seas and 
oceans, the lofty ranges of mountains which rise from its surface, 
the hundreds of majestic rivers which roll their waters into the 
ocean, the numerous orders of animated beings with which it is 
peopled, and the vast quantity of matter enclosed in its bowels from 
every part of its circumference to its centre, amounting to more 
than two hundred and sixty thousand millions of cubical miles — we 
cannot but be astonished at the greatness of that Being who first 
launched it into existence, who " measures its waters in the hollow 
of his hand, who weighs its mountains in scales, and its hills in a 
balance ;" and who has supported it in its rapid movements, from 
age to age. But how must our conceptions of Divine Power be 
enlarged when we consider, that this earth, which appears so great 
to the frail beings which inhabit it, is only like a small speck in 
creation, or like an atom in the immensity of space, when com- 
pared with the myriads of worlds of superior magnitude which ex- 
ist within the boundaries of creation ! When we direct our views 
to the planetary system, we behold three or four globes, which 
appear only like small studs on the vault of heaven, yet contain 
a quantity of matter more than two thousand four hundred times 
greater than that of the earth, besides more than twenty lesser globes, 
most of them larger than our world,* and several hundreds of 
comets, of various magnitudes, moving in every direction through 
the depths of space. The Sun is a body of such a magnitude as 
overpowers our feeble conceptions, and fills us with astonishment. 
Within the wide circumference of this luminary moro than a mil- 
lion of worlds as large as ours could be contained. His body fills 
a cubical space equal to 681,472,000,000,000,000 miles, and his 
surface more than 40,000,000,000, or forty thousand millions of 
square miles. At the rate of sixty miles a day, it would require 
more than a hundred millions of years to pass over every square 
mile on his surface. His attractive energy extends to several 
thousands of millions of miles from his surface, retaining in their 
orbits the most distant planets and comets, and dispensing light and 
heat, and fructifying influence, to more than a hundred worlds. "f* 
What an astonishing idea, then, does it give us of the power of 
Omnipotence, when we consider that the universe is replenished 
with innumerable globes of a similar size and splendour ! For every 
star which the naked eye perceives twinkling on the vault of hea- 
ven, and those more distant orbs which the telescope brings to view 


* The satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, and Herschel are all reckoned to be 
Larger than the earth. 

f The planetary system, including the comets, contains more than a hundred 
bodies dependent on the sun. 



EXTENT OF THE UNIVERSE. 197 



Velocity of the Planets. 



throughout the depths of immensity, are, doubtless, suns, no less 
in magnitude than that which " enlightens our day," and surround- 
ed by a retinue of revolving worlds. Some of them have been 
reckoned by astronomers to be even much larger than our sun. 
The star Lyra, for example, is supposed, by Sir W. Herschel, to 
be 33,275,000 miles in diameter, or thirty-eight times the diame- 
ter of the sun ; and, if so, its cubical contents will be 36,S42,932, 
671,875,000,000,000 miles, that is, more than fifty-four thousand 
times larger than the sun. The number of such bodies exceeds all 
calculation. Sir W. Herschel perceived, in that portion of the 
Milky-way which lies near the constellation Orion, no less than 
50,000 stars large enough to be distinctly numbered, pass before 
his telescope in an hour's time ; besides twice as many more 
which could be seen only now and then by faint glimpses. It 

been reckoned that nearly a hundred millions of stars lie 
within the range of our telescopes. And, if we suppose, as we justly 
may, that each of these suns has a hundred worlds connected with 
it, there will be found ten thousand millions of worlds in that por- 
tion of the universe which comes within the ranjre of human obser- 
vation, besides those which lie concealed from mortal eyes in the 
unexplored regions of space, which may as far exceed all that are 
visible, as the waters in the caverns of the ocean exceed in mag- 
nitude a single particle of vapour 1 

Of such numbers and magnitudes we can form no adequate con- 
ception. The mind is bewildered, confounded, and utterly over- 
whelmed, when it attempts to grasp the magnitude of the universe, 
or to form an idea of the Omnipotent energy which brought it into 
existence. The amplitude of the scale on which the systems of the 
universe are constructed tends likewise to elevate our conceptions 
of the grandeur of the Deity. Between every one of the planetary 

ies there intervenes a space of many millions of miles in ex- 
Between the sun and the nearest star there is an interval, 

riding in every direction, of more than twenty billions of miles ; 

it is highly probable that a similar space surrounds every 
other system. And if we take into consideration the immense 
forces that are in operation throughout the universe — that one 
globe, a thousand times larger than the earth, is flying through the 

>ns of immensity at the rate of thirty thousand miles an hour, 
another at the rate of seventy thousand, and another at a hundred 
thousand miles an hour, and that millions of mighty worlds are thus 
traversing the illimitable spaces of the firmament — can we refrain 
from exclaiming, in the language of inspiration, " Great and mar- 
vellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ! Who can by search- 
ing find out God ? Who can find out the Almighty to perfection 1 
17* 



198 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



The Divine Empire. 



Who can utter the mighty operations of Jehovah 1 Who can show 
forth all his praise V* 

Such a scene displays, beyond any other view we can take of 
creation, the magnificence and extent of the Divine empire. Those 
countless worlds to which we have now adverted are not to be 
considered as scenes of sterility and desolation, or as merely 
diffusing a useless splendour over the wilds of immensity, nor 
are they to be viewed as so many splendid toys to amuse a few 
astronomers in our diminutive world. Such an idea would be 
altogether inconsistent with every notion we ofcght to form of 
the wisdom and intelligence of the Deity, and with every arrange- 
ment we perceive in the scenes of nature immediately around us, 
where we behold every portion of matter teeming with inhabit- 
ants. These luminous and opaque globes, dispersed through- 
out the regions of infinite space, must, therefore, be considered 
as the abodes of sensitive and intellectual existence, where in- 
telligences of various ranks and orders contemplate the glory 
and enjoy the bounty of their Creator. And what scenes of di- 
versified grandeur must we suppose those innumerable worlds to 
display ! What numerous orders and gradations of intellectual 
natures must the universe contain, since so much variety is dis- 
played in every department of our sublunary system ! What 
boundless intelligence is implied in the superintendence of such 
vast dominions ! On such subjects the human mind can form 
no definite conceptions. The most vigorous imagination, in its 
loftiest flights,drops its wing and sinks into inanity before the splen- 
dours of the " King eternal, immortal, and invisible, who dwells 
in the light unapproachable," when it attempts to form a picture of 
the magnificence of the universe which he has created. But of this 
we are certain, that over all this boundless scene of creation, 
and over all the ranks of beings with which it is replenished, his 
moral government extends. Every motion of the material sys- 
tem, every movementamong the rational andsentient beings it con- 
tains, and every thought and perception that passes through the 
minds of the unnumbered intelligences which people all worlds, are 
intimately known, and for ever present to his omniscient eye, and 
all directed to accomplish the designs of his universal provi- 
dence and the eternal purposes of his will. " He hath prepared 
his throne in the heavens, his kingdom ruleth over all," and " he 
doth according to his will among the armies of heaven," as well 
as " among the inhabitants of the earth." " The host of heaven 
worshippeth him, — all his works, in all places of his dominions, 
praise him. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and of his 
government there shall be no end." At the same moment he is 



PERFECTION OF THE DEITY, 193 



Demonstrated by the Works of Nature. 



displaying the glory of his power and intelligence to worlds far 
beyond the reach of mortal eyes, — presiding over the councils of 
nations on earth, and supporting the invisible animalculse in a 
drop of water. " In him' 7 all beings, from the archangel to the 
worm, " live and move," and on him they depend for all that hap- 
piness they now possess, or ever will enjoy, while eternal ages 
are rolling on. 

Such views of the omnipotence of the Deity and of the gran- 
deur of his empire, are calculated not only to expand our con- 
ceptions of his attributes, but to enliven our hopes in relation to 
the enjoyments of the future world. For we behold a prospect 
boundless as immensity, in which the human soul may for ever 
expatiate, and contemplate new scenes of glory and felicity con- 
tinually bursting on the view, " world without end." 

Such are some of the views of the Deity which the works of 
nature, when contemplated through the medium of science, are 
calculated to unfold. They demonstrate the unity of God, his 
wisdom and intelligence, — his boundless benevolence, — the vast 
multiplicity of ideas which have existed in his mind from eternity, 
his Almighty power, and the magnificence of his empire. These 
views are in perfect unison with the declarations of the sacred 
oracles ; they illustrate many of the sublime sentiments of the 
inspired writers ; they throw a light on the moral government of 
God, and elevate our conceptions of the extent of his dominions ; 
they afford a sensible representation of the infinity and immensity 
of the Divine nature, in so far as finite minds are capable of con- 
templating such perfections ; and when considered in connexion 
with the scriptural character of Deity and the other truths of re- 
velation, are calculated " to make the man of God perfect and 
thoroughly furnished unto every good work." As the works of God, 
without the assistance of his word, are insufficient to give us a com- 
plete view of his character and the principles of his moral govern- 
ment, so the bare reading of the Scriptures is insufficient to convey 
to our minds those diversified and expansive conceptions of the 
Divinity to which we have adverted, unless we comply with the 
requisitions of the sacred writers, to " meditate on all his works, 
to consider the operations of his hands, to speak of the glory of 
his kingdom," and to talk of his " power" in order that we may 
be qualified " to make known to the sons of men his mighty ope- 
rations, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom." 

How very different, then, from the views now stated, must 
be the conceptions formed of the Divinity by those whose range 
of thought is chiefly confined to the objects that lie within a 
few mile3 of their habitation, and how limited ideas must they 



200 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Knowledge of God the Foundation of Religion. 



■ 



entertain of Divine perfection ! For the view that any one enter- 
tains of the nature and attributes of God, must, in some degree, 
correspond to the knowledge he has acquired of the visible effects 
of his power, wisdom, and benevolence ; since it is only by the 
sensible manifestations of Deity, either through the medium of 
nature or revelation, that we know any thing at all about his 
nature and perfections. And, therefore, if our views of the 
manifestations of the Divinity be limited and obscure, such will 
likewise be our views of the Divinity himself. It is owing to the 
want of attention to such considerations that many worthy Chris- 
tians are found to entertain very confused and distorted ideas 
of the character of the Deity, of the requisitions of his word, 
and of the arrangements of his universal providence. And is it 
not an object much to be desired, that the great body of mankind 
should be more fullv enlightened in the knowledge of their Crea- 
tor ? The knowledge of God lies at the foundation of all religion, 
and of all our prospects in reference to the eternal world, and 
it must surely be a highly desirable attainment to acquire as glo- 
rious and expansive an idea of the object of our adoration, as the 
finite capacity of our intellects is capable of comprehending. 
Such views as we have now exhibited of the wisdom, power, 
and beneficence of the Deity, and of the magnificence and variety 
of his works, were they communicated to the generality of man- 
kind and duly appreciated, would not only interest their affections 
and increase their intellectual enjoyment, but would enable them 
to understand the meaning and references of many sublime pas- 
sages in the volume of inspiration which they are apt either to 
overlook or to misinterpret. Such views, likewise, would natu- 
rally inspire them with reverence and adoration of the Divine Ma- 
jesty, with gratitude for his wise and benevolent arrangements, — 
mth complacency in his administration as the moral Governor of 
the world, — with a firm reliance on his providential care for every 
thing requisite to their happiness, and with an earnest desire to 
yield a cordial obedience to his righteous laws. At the same time, 
they would be qualified to declare to others " the glorious honour 
of his Majesty, to utter abundantly the memory of his great good- 
ness, and to speak of all his wonderful works." 



INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE ON MORALS. 201 



Value of Knowledge. 



SECTION VII. 

On the Beneficial Effects of Knowledge on Moral Principle and 

Conduct. 

Knowledge is valuable chiefly in proportion as it is practical 
and useful. It dispels the darkness which naturally broods over 
the human understanding, and dissipates a thousand superstitious 
notions and idle terrors by which it has been frequently held in 
cruel bondage. It invigorates and expands the intellectual facul- 
ties, and directs them to their proper objects. It elevates the 
mind in the scale of rational existence, by enlarging its views 
and refining its pleasures. It gratifies the desire of the soul 
for perpetual activity, and renders its activities subservient to the 
embellishment of life and the improvement of society. It unveils 
the beauties and sublimities of nature, with which the heavens 
and the earth are adorned, and sets before us the " Book of God," 
in which we may trace the lineaments of his character and the 
ways of his providence. It aggrandizes our ideas of the Omni- 
potence of Deity, and unfolds to us the riches of his beneficence, 
and the depths of his wisdom and intelligence. And, in the ex- 
ercise of our powers on such objects, we experience a thousand 
delightful emotions and enjoyments to which the unenlightened 
multitude are entire strangers. All such activities and enjoy- 
ments may be reckoned among the practical advantages of know- 
ledge. 

But there is no application of knowledge more interesting and 
important than its practical bearings on moral principle and action. 
If it were not calculated to produce a beneficial effect on the state 
of morals and the intercourses of general society, the utility of 
its general diffusion might, with some show of reason, be called 
in question. But there cannot be the slightest doubt, that an in- 
crease of knowledge would be productive of an increase of mo- 
ral order, and an improvement in moral conduct. For truth, in 
thought and sentiment, leads to truth in action. The man who is 
in the habit of investigating truth, and who rejoices in it when 
ascertained, cannot be indifferent to its application to conduct. 
There must be truth in his actions ; they must be the expression, 
the proof, and the effect of his sentiments and affections, in order 
that he may approve of them, and be satisfied that they are vir- 
tuous, or accordant with the relations which subsist among moral 
agents. There must likewise be a truth or harmony between his 



202 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Ignorance the Source of Error. 



actions, so that none of them be incoherent with the rest. They 
must 811 be performed on the same principles, with the same de- 
signs and by the same rule. To a man who perceives truth end 
loves it, every incongruity and every want of consistency between 
sentiment and action, produces a disagreeable and painful sensa- 
tion ; and, consequently, he who clearly perceives the rule of 
right, and acts in direct opposition to it, does violence to his na- 
ture, and must be subjected to feelings and remorses of con- 
science far more painful than those of the man whose mind is 
shrouded in ignorance. It is true, indeed, that proficiency in 
knowledge and in the practice of true morality, do not always 
proceed with equal pace. But it is nevertheless true, that every 
action that is truly virtuous is founded on knowledge, and is the 
result of scrutiny and choice directed by truth ; otherwise, what 
is termed virtue would be only the effect of necessity, of con- 
straint, or of mechanical habits. We need not, therefore, fear 
that the dominion of virtue* will be contracted, or her influence 
diminished, by an enlargement of the kingdom of light and know- 
ledge. They are inseparably connected, their empire is one and 
the same, and the true votaries of the one will also be the true 
votaries of the other. And, therefore, every one that sincerely 
loves mankind, and desires their moral improvement, will diffuse 
light around him as extensively as he can, without the least fear 
of its ultimate consequences ; since he knows for certain, that in 
all cases whatever, wisdom excels folly, and light is better than 
darkness. The following observations will perhaps tend more 
particularly to confirm and elucidate these positions : 

1. Ignorance is one principal cause of the want of virtue, and 
of the immoralities which abound in the world. Were we to take 
a survey of the moral state of the world, as delineated in the 
history of nations, or as depicted by modern voyagers and tra- 
vellers, we should find abundant illustration of the truth of this 
remark. We should find, in almost every instance, that igno- 
rance of the character of the true God, and false conceptions of 
the nature of the worship and service he requires, have led, not 
only to the most obscene practices and immoral abominations, 
but to the perpetration of the most horrid cruelties. We have 
only to turn our eyes to Hindostan, to Tartary, Dahomy, Benin, 
Ashantee, and other petty states in Africa ; to New-Zealand, the 
Marquesas, the Sandwich Islands, and to the Society Isles in the 

* By virtue, in this place, and wherever the term occurs, I understand, con- 
duct regulated by the law of God, including both the external action and the 
principle whence it flows ; in other words, Christian morality, or that holiness 
which the Scriptures enjom. 



INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE ON MORALS. 203 



Ignorance the chief Cause of Vice. 



Southern Pacific, prior to their late moral transformation, in order 
to be convinced of this melancholy truth. The destruction of 
new-born infants, — the burning of living women upon the dead 
bodies of their husbands, — the drowning of aged parents, — the 
offering of human victims in sacrifice, — the torturing to death of 
prisoners taken in battle, — the murder of infants, and the obscene 
abominations of the societies of Arreoy in Otaheite and other 
islands, and the dreadful effects of ambition, treachery, and re- 
venge which so frequently accompany such practices, are only a 
few specimens of the consequences of ignorance combined with 
human depravity. It is likewise to ignorance chiefly that the vices 
of the ancient pagan world are to be attributed. To this cause 
the apostle of the gentiles ascribes the immoralities of the hea- 
then nations. " The gentiles," says Paul, " having the under- 
standing darkened through the ignorance that is in them, have 
given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all manner of 
uncle anness with greediness."* And, in another part of his wri- 
tings, he declares, " Because they did not like to retain God in 
their knowledge, they were given up to a reprobate mind," or a 
• mind void of judgment ; and the consequence was, " they were 
filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetous- 
ness, maliciousness, envy, murder, deceit, and malignity ;" they 
were " backbiters, haters of God, proud, boasters, inventors of 
evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, without 
natural affection, implacable, and unmerciful. "| And if we turn 
our eyes to the state of society around us, we shall find that the 
same cause has produced the same effects. Among what class do 
we find sobriety, temperance, rectitude of conduct, honesty, ac- 
tive beneficence, and abstinence from the grosser vices most fre- 
quently to prevail 1 Is it among ignorant and grovelling minds ? 
Is it not among the wise and intelligent, those who have been 
properly instructed in their duty, and in the principles of moral 
action ] And who are those that are found most frequently en- 
gaged in fighting, brawling, and debauchery, in the commission of 
theft and other petty crimes, and in rioting in low houses of dis- 
sipation i Are they not, for the most part, the rude, the ignorant, 
and untutored, — those whose instruction has been neglected by 
their parents or guardians, or whose wayward tempers have led 
them to turn a deaf ear to the reproofs of wisdom ? From all the 
investigations which of late have been made into the state of im- 
morality and crime, it is found, that gross ignorance, and its ne- 
cessary concomitant, grovelling affections, are the general cha- 

* Ephes. to. 18, 19. f Rom. i. 28, 31. 



204 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Fundamental Principles of Moral Action. 



racteristica of those who are engaged in criminal pursuits, and 
most deeply sunk in vicious indulgence. Now, if it be a fact 
that ignorance is one principal source of immorality and crime, 
it appears a natural and necessary inference, that the general dif- 
fusion of knowledge would tend to counteract its influence and 
operations. For when we remove the cause of any evil, we, of 
course, prevent the effects ; and not only so, but at the same time 
bring into operation all those virtues which knowledge has a ten- 
dency to produce. 

2. Knowledge is requisite for ascertaining the true principles of 
moral action, and the duties we ought to perform. Numerous are 
the treatises which have been written, and various the opinions 
which have been entertained, both in ancient and modern times, 
respecting the foundation of virtue and the rules of human conduct. 
And, were we to investigate the different theories which have been 
formed on this subject, to weigh the arguments which have been 
brought forward in support of each hypothesis, and to balance the 
various conflicting opinions which different philosophers have 
maintained, a considerable portion of human life would be wasted 
before we arrived at any satisfactory conclusions. But if we take 
the system of revelation for our guide in the science of morals, we 
shall be enabled to arrive, by a short process, at the most impor- 
tant and satisfactory results. We shall find, that, after all the 
theories which have been proposed, and the systems which 
have been reared by ethical philosophers, the Supreme Lawgiver 
has comprised the essence of true morality under two commands 
or fundamental principles, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart," and " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy- 
self." On these two commandments rests the whole duty of 
man. 

Now, although the leading ideas contained in these commands 
are simple and obvious to every one who considers them atten- 
tively, yet it requires certain habits of reflection and a considera- 
ble portion of knowledge to be enabled to trace these laws or prin- 
ciples to all their legitimate consequences, and to follow them in 
all their ramifications, and their bearings on human conduct, 
and on the actions of all moral intelligences. For it can easily be 
shown, that these laws are so comprehensive as to reach every 
possible moral action, to prevent every moral evil, and to secure 
the happiness of every moral agent, — that all the duties inculcated 
in the Bible, which we owe to God, to our fellow-creatures, and 
to ourselves, are comprehended in them, and are only so many 
ramifications of these general and fundamental principles, — that 
they are equally adapted to men on earth and to angels in 



INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE ON MORALS. 205 



Immutability of Moral Law. 



heaven, — that their control extends to the inhabitants of all 
worlds, — that they form the basis of the order and happiness of the 
whole intelligent system, — and that their authority and influence 
will extend not only through all the revolutions of time, but through 
all the ages of eternity. Here, then, we have a subject calculated 
to exercise the highest powers of intelligence ; and the more we 
investigate it the more shall we admire the comprehensive nature 
of that " law which is exceeding broad," and the more shall we 
be disposed to comply with its divine requisitions. But unless we 
be, in some measure, acquainted with the first principles of moral 
action, and their numerous bearings upon life and conduct, we 
cannot expect to make rapid advances in the path of virtue, or to 
reach the sublimer heights of moral improvement. 

3. Knowledge, combined with habits of thinking, would lead to 
inquiries into the reasons of those moral laws which the Creator 
has promulgated, and the foundations on which they rest. It is 
an opinion which very generally prevails, even among the more 
respectable portion of mankind, that the moral laws given forth 
to men are the mere dictates of Sovereignty, and depend solely 
on the will of the Deity, and, consequently, that they might be 
modified, or even entirely superseded, were it the pleasure of the 
Supreme Legislator to alter them or to suspend their authority. 
But this is a most absurd and dangerous position. It would take 
away from the inherent excellence of virtue, and would represent 
the Divine Being as acting on principles similar to those of an 
Eastern despot. If such a position were true, it would follow, 
that all the immoralities, cruelties, oppressions, wars, and but- 
cheries that have taken place in the world, are equally excellent 
and amiable as truth, justice, virtue, and benevolence, and that 
the character of infernal fiends is just as lovely and praiseworthy 
as that of angels and archangels, provided the Deity willed that 
such a change should take place. Were such a change possible, 
it would not only overturn all the notions we are accustomed to 
entertain respecting the moral attributes of God, but might ulti- 
mately destroy our hopes of future enjoyment, and endanger the 
happiness of the whole moral universe. But there is an inherent 
excellence in moral virtue, and the Deity has willed it to exist, 
because it is essential to the happiness and order of the intelligent 
system. It might be shown, that not only the two fundamental 
principles of religion and morality stated above, but all the moral 
precepts which flow from them, are founded on the nature of 
God, and on the relations which subsist among intelligent agents, 
and that, were they reversed, or their influence suspended, misery 
would reign uncontrolled through the universe, and in the course 
18 



I 



206 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Consequences of a Change in Moral Law. 



of ages the whole moral and intelligent system would be anni- 
hilated.* 

Now, if men were accustomed to investigate the foundations 
of morality, and the reasons of those moral precepts which are 
laid before them as the rule of their conduct, they would perceive 
a most powerful motive to universal obedience. They would 
plainly see, that all the laws of God are calculated to secure the 
happiness of every moral agent who yields obedience to them, — 
that it is their interest to yield a voluntary submission to these 
laws, — and that misery, both here and hereafter, is the certain 
and necessary consequence of their violation. It is a common 
feeling with a considerable portion of mankind, though seldom 
expressed in words, that the laws of heaven are too strict and 
unbending, — that they interfere with what they consider their 
pleasures and enjoyments, and that if one or more of them could 
be a little modified or relaxed, they would have no objections to 
attempt a compliance with the rest. But such feelings and sen- 
timents are altogether preposterous and absurd. It would be 
inconsistent, not only with the rectitude, but with the benevolence, 
of the Deity, to set aside or to relax a single requisition of that 
law which is " perfect," and which, as it now stands, is calculated 
to promote the happiness of all worlds. Were he to do so, and 
to permit moral agents to act accordingly, it would be nothing 
less than to shut up the path to happiness, and to open the flood- 
gates of misery upon the intelligent universe. Hence we are 
told by Him who came to fulfil the law, that, sooner may " heaven 
and earth pass away," or the whole frame of nature be dissolved, 
than that " one jot or one tittle can pass from this law." For, 
as it is founded on the nature of God, and on the relations which 
subsist between Him and created beings, it must be absolutely 
perfect, and of eternal obligation ; and, consequently, nothing 
could be taken from it without destroying its perfection, nor any 
thing added to it without supposing that it was originally imper- 
fect. Were the bulk of mankind, therefore, capable of entering 
into the spirit of such investigations, and qualified to perceive the 
true foundations of moral actions ; were they, for example, clearly 
to perceive that truth is the bond of society, and the foundation 
of all delightful intercourse among intelligent beings in every 
world, and that, were the law which enjoins it to be reversed, and 
rational creatures to act accordingly, all confidence would be 

* For a full illustration of these positions, and a variety of topics connected 
with them, the author begs to refer his readers to a work which he lately 
published, entitled, " The Philosophy of Religion, or an Illustration of the 
Moral Laws of the Universe." 



INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE ON MORALS. 207 

Necessity of Self-Examination. 

completey destroyed, — the inhabitants of all worlds thrown into 
a state of universal anarchy, and creation transformed into a 
chaos, — such views and sentiments could not fail of producing a 
powerful and beneficial influence on the state of morals, and a 
profound reverence and respect for that law " which is holy, just, 
and good." 

4. Knowledge, in combination with habits of reflection, icould 
lead to self-examination and self -inspection. The indolent and 
untutored mind shuns all exertion of its intellectual faculties, and 
all serious reflection on what passes within it, or has a relation to 
moral character and conduct. It is incapable of investigating its 
own powers, of determining the manner in which they should 
operate, or of ascertaining the secret springs of its actions. Yet, 
without a habit of reflection and self-examination, we cannot 
attain a knowledge of ourselves, and, without self-knowledge, we 
cannot apply aright our powers and capacities, correct our fail- 
ings and defects, or advance to higher degrees of improvement 
in knowledge and virtue. In order to ascertain our state, our 
character, and our duty, such inquiries as the following must fre- 
quently and seriously be the subject of consideration. What rank 
do I hold in the scale of being, and what place do I occupy in the 
empire of God ? Am I merely a sensitive creature, or am I also 
endowed with moral and intellectual powers ? In what relation 
do I stand to my fellow-creatures, and what duties do I owe 
them ? What is my ultimate destination ? Is it merely to pass 
a few years in eating and drinking, in motion and rest, like the 
lower animals, or am I designed for another and a higher sphere 
of existence ? In w T hat relation do I stand to my Creator, and 
what homage, submission, and obedience ought I to yield to him'? 
What are the talents and capacities with which I am endowed, and 
how shall I apply them to the purposes for which they were given 
me ? What are the weaknesses and deficiencies to which I am 
subject, and how are they to be remedied ? What are the vices 
and follies to which I am inclined, and by what means may they 
be counteracted? What are the temptations to which I am 
exposed, and how shall they be withstood ? What are the se- 
cret springs of my actions, and by what laws and motives are 
they regulated? What are the tempers and dispositions which 
I most frequently indulge, and are they accordant with the rules 
of rectitude and virtue ? What are the prejudices I am apt to 
entertain, and by what means may they be subdued ? What are 
the affections and appetites in which I indulge, and are they regu- 
lated by the dictates of reason and the law of God ? What are 
my great and governing views in life ? Are they correspondent 



208 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Evil Effects of Self-Ignorance. 



to the will of my Creator, and to the eternal destination that 
awaits me ? AVherein do I place my highest happiness ? In the 
pleasures of sense, or in the pleasures of intellect and religion, — 
in the creature or in the Creator ? How have I hitherto employed 
my moral powers and capacities? How do I stand affected 
towards my brethren of mankind ? Do I hate, or envy, or despise 
any of them ? Do I grudge them prosperity, wish them evil, or 
purposely injure and affront them ? Or do I love them as bre- 
thren of the same family, do them all the good in my power, 
acknowledge their excellencies, and rejoice in their happiness 
and prosperity ? 

Such inquiries and self-examinations, when seriously con- 
ducted, would necessarily lead to the most beneficial moral 
results. In leading us to a knowledge of our errors and defects, 
they would teach us the excellence of humility, the reasonable- 
ness of this virtue, and the foundation on which it rests, and of 
course, the folly of pride, and of all those haughty and superci- 
lious tempers which are productive of so much mischief and un- 
happiness, both in the higher and the lower spheres of life. Pride 
is uniformly the offspring of self-ignorance. For, if a man will 
but turn his eyes within, and thoroughly scrutinize himself, so as 
to perceive his errors and follies, and the germs of vice which 
lodge in his heart, as well as the low rank he holds in the scale of 
creation, he would see enough to teach him humbleness of mind, 
and to render a proud disposition odious and detestable, and 
inconsistent with the relations in which he stands to his Creator, 
to his fellow-creatures, and to the universe at large. Such men- 
tal investigations would also lead to self-possession under affronts 
and injuries, and amid the hurry and disorder of the passions, — 
to charity, candour, meekness, and moderation, in regard to the 
sentiments and conduct of others, to the exercise of self-denial, 
to decorum and consistency of character, to a wise and steady 
conduct in life, and to an intelligent performance of the offices of 
piety and the duties of religion. But how can we ever expect that 
an ignorant uncultivated mind, unaccustomed to a regular train 
of rational thought, can enter, with spirit and intelligence, on the 
process of self-examination? It requires a certain portion, at 
least, of information, and a habit of reflection, before a man can 
be qualified to engage in such an exercise ; and these qualifica- 
tions can only be attained by the exercise which the mind receives 
in the acquisition of general knowledge. — If, then, it be admitted, 
that self-ignorance is the original spring of all the follies and 
incongruities we behold in the characters of men, and the cause 
of all that vanity, censoriousness, malignancy, and vice, which 



KNOWLEDGE THE SPRING OF MORAL ACTION. 209 

P ~~ - ■ ■ ■■!... ■ 

Practical Effects of Knowledge. 

abound in the world ; and if self-knowledge would tend to coun- 
teract such immoral dispositions, we must endeavour to commu- 
nicate a certain portion of knowledge to mankind, to fit them for 
the exercise of self-examination and self-inspection, before we 
can expect that the moral world will be renovated, and " all ini- 
quity, as ashamed, hide its head, and stop its mouth." 

5. Knowledge, by expanding the mind, will enable it to take a 
clear and comprehensive view of the motives, bearings, tenden- 
cies, and consequences of moral actions. A man possessed of 
a truly enlightened mind must have his moral sense, or conscience, 
much more sensible and tender, and more judiciously directed, 
than that of a person whose understanding is beclouded with 
ignorance. When he has to choose between good and evil, or 
between good and better, or between any two actions he has to 
perform, he is enabled to bring before his mind many more argu- 
ments, and much higher and nobler arguments and motives, to 
determine the choice he ought to make. When he is about to 
perform any particular action, his mental eye is enabled to pierce 
into the remote consequences which may result from it. He can, 
in some measure, trace its bearings, not only on his friends and 
neighbours, and the community to which he belongs, but also on 
surrounding nations, on the world at large, on future generations, 
and even on the scenes of a future eternity. For an action, whe- 
ther good or bad, performed by an individual in a certain station 
in society, may have a powerful moral influence on tribes and na- 
tions far beyond the sphere in which it was performed, and on 
millions who may people the world in the future ages of time. 
We know that actions, both of a virtuous and vicious nature, per- 
formed several thousands of years ago, and in distant places of 
the world, have had an influence upon the men of the present 
generation, which will redound either to the honour or the disgrace 
of the actors, " in that day when God shall judge the world in 
righteousness, and reward every man according to his works." 
We also know, that there are certain actions which to some 
minds may appear either trivial or indifferent, and to other minds 
beneficial, which nevertheless involve a principle which, if traced 
to its remoter consequences, would lead to the destruction of the 
intelligent creation. Now, it is the man of knowledge and of 
moral perception alone who can recognise such actions and prin- 
ciples, and trace them to all their natural and legitimate results. 
He alone can apply, with judgment and accuracy, the general 
laws of moral action to every particular circumstance, connect 
the present with the future, and clearly discern the mere sem- 
blance of truth and moral rectitude from the reality. 
18* 



210 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Benefits resulting from the Study of the Scriptures. 



In short, the knowledge of divine Revelation, and a serious 
study of its doctrines and precepts, must accompany every other 
species of information, if we wish to behold mankind reformed 
and moralized. It is in the sacred oracles alone that the will of 
God, the natural character of man, the remedy of moral evil, the 
rules of moral conduct, and the means of moral improvement, 
are clearly and fully unfolded. And the man who either rejects 
the revelations of Heaven, or refuses to study and investigate the 
truths and moral requisitions they contain, can never expect to 
rise to the sublime heights of virtue, and to the moral dignity of 
his nature. But were the study of the Scriptures uniformly con- 
joined with the study of every other branch of useful knowledge, 
we should, ere long, behold a wonderful transformation upon 
the face of the moral world. Pride, selfishness, malice, envy, 
ambition, and revenge would gradually be subdued; rioting, 
drunkenness, and debauchery would be held in abhorrence by all 
ranks ; kindness and affection would unite the whole brotherhood 
of mankind ; peace, harmony, and subordination would be dis- 
played in every department of social life ; " our judges would be 
just, and our exactors righteous ; wars would be turned into 
peace to the ends of the earth, and righteousness and praise 
spring forth before all the nations." Were moral principle thus 
diffused among the different classes of society, it could not fail 
of producing a beneficial influence on the progress of the arts 
and sciences, and on every thing that might tend to meliorate 
the condition of our fellow-creatures, and to promote the general 
improvement of mankind. For, in endeavouring to promote such 
objects, we meet with as great a difficulty in the moral as in the 
intellectual condition of mankind. The principles of selfishness, 
pride, ambition, and envy, and similar dispositions, create obsta- 
cles in the way of scientific and philanthropic improvements, 
tenfold greater than any which arise from pecuniary resources or 
physical impediments. But were such principles undermined, 
and a spirit of good-will and affection pervading the mass of 
society, the machinery of the moral world would move onward 
with smoothness and harmony ; and mankind, acting in unison, 
and every one cheerfully contributing to the good of the whole, 
would accomplish objects, and beneficial transformations on the 
physical and moral condition of society, far superior to any thing 
that has hitherto been realized. 

To what has been now stated, with regard to the influence of 
knowledge on moral conduct, it may, perhaps, be objected, that 
many instances occur of men of genius and learning indulging 
in dissolute and immoral habits, and that the higher classes of 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 211 

Knowledge and Morality not necessarily connected. 

society, who have received a better education than the lower, are 
nearly as immoral in their conduct. In replying to such an ob- 
jection, we have to consider, in the first place, ichat is the nature 
of the education such persons have received. Most of the higher 
classes have received a grammar-school education, and, perhaps, 
attended a few sessions at an academy or a university. There can- 
not, however, be reckoned above one in ten who pursues his studies 
with avidity, and enters into the spirit of the instructions commu- 
nicated at such seminaries ; as it is well known to every one ac- 
quainted with the general practice of such students in colleges and 
academies, that a goodly number of them spend their time as much 
in folly and dissipation, as in serious study. But, although they 
had acquired a competent acquaintance with the different branches 
to which their attention was directed, what is the amount of their 
acquisitions? A knowledge of the Greek and Latin Classics, and 
of pagan mythology, in the acquisition of which five years are gene- 
rally spent at the grammar-school, and two at the university — 
and the elements of logic, ethics, and mathematical philosophy. 
But such departments of knowledge, in the waij in ivhich they have 
been generally taught, have no necessary connexion with religion 
and moral conduct. On the contrary, by keeping the principles 
of Christianity carefully out of view, and even insinuating objec- 
tions against them, some professors of these sciences have pro- 
moted the cause of infidelity, and consequently impeded the pro- 
gress of genuine morality. What aid can be expected to morality 
from a mere grammar-school education, when the acquisition of 
words and phrases, and the absurd notions and impure practices 
connected with Roman and Grecian idolatry, form the prominent 
objects of attention ; and when, as too frequently happens, no in- 
structions in Christianity are communicated, and not even the forms 
of religion attended to in many of those seminaries 1 The mere 
acquisition of languages is not the acquisition of useful know- 
ledge : they are, at best, but the means of knowledge ; and al- 
though we would not discourage any one, who has it in his power, 
from prosecuting such studies, yet it is from other and more im- 
portant branches of study that we expect assistance in the cause 
of moral improvement, 

With regard to men of learning and genius, we have likewise 
to inquire into the nature and tendency of their literary pursuits, 
before we can ascertain that they are calculated to prevent the in- 
fluence of immoral propensities and passions. Persons are de- 
signated men of learning, who have made proficiency in the 
knowledge of the Greek, Latin, French, German and other lan- 
guages, — who are skilled in mythology, antiquities, criticism, 



212 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Kinds of Knowledge proper to be taught. 



and metaphysics, or who are profound students in geometry, alge- 
bra, fluxions, and other branches of the mathematics. But it is 
easy to perceive, that a man may be a profound linguist, gram- 
marian, politician, or antiquarian, and yet not distinguished for 
virtuous conduct; for such departments of learning have no direct 
bearing upon moral principle or conduct. On the contrary, when 
prosecuted exclusively, to the neglect of the more substantial parts 
of knowledge, and under the influence of certain opinions and preju- 
dices, they have a tendency to withdraw the attention from the 
great objects of religion, and consequently from the most power- 
ful motives which excite to moral action. — We have likewise to 
inquire whether such persons have made the Christian revelation 
one great object of their study and attention, and whether they are 
frequently employed in serious contemplations of the perfections of 
the Creator, as displayed in the economy of the universe. If such 
studies be altogether overlooked, we need not wonder that such 
characters should frequently slide into the paths of infidelity and 
dissipation; since they neglect an attention to those departments of 
knowledge which alone can guide them in the paths of rectitude. 
We may as soon expect to gather " grapes from thorns, or figs 
from thistles," as to expect pure morality from those, however high 
they may stand in literary acquirements, who either neglect or 
oppose the great truths of religion. — We do not mean, however, 
to insinuate, that the subjects alluded to above are either trivial or 
unworthy of being prosecuted. On the contrary, we are fully 
persuaded, that there is not a subject which has ever come under 
human investigation, when prosecuted with proper views, and in 
connexion with other parts of knowledge, but may be rendered 
subservient, in some way or another, both to the intellectual and 
the moral improvement of man. But when we speak of diffusing 
useful knowledge among the mass of mankind, we do not so much 
allude to the capacity of being able to translate from one language 
into another, of knowing the sentiments of the ancient Greeks 
and Romans, and the characters and squabbles of their gods and 
goddesses, or to the faculty of distinguishing ancient coins, frag- 
ments of vases, or pieces of armour — as to the facts of history, 
science, and revelation, particularly in their bearing upon the reli- 
gious views and the moral conduct of mankind. And if the at- 
tention of the great body of the people were directed to such sub- 
jects, from proper principles and motives, and were they exhibited 
to their view in a lucid and interesting manner, there cannot be 
the smallest doubt, that the interests of virtue and of pure and 
undefiled religion would be thereby promoted to an extent far 
beyond what has ever yet been realized. 



KNOWLEDGE OF A FUTURE STATE. 213 



Present Knowledge not to be lost in Future Existence. 



SECTION VIII 

On the Utility of Knowledge in relation to a Future World. 

Man is a being destined for eternity. The present world through 
which he is travelling is only a transitory scene, introductory to a 
future and an immortal existence. When his corporeal frame 
sinks into the grave, and is resolved into its primitive elements, 
the intellectual principle by which it was animated shall pass into 
another region, and be happy or miserable, according to the go- 
verning principle by which it was actuated in the present life. 
The world in which we now reside may be considered as the great 
nursery of our future and eternal existence, as a state of proba- 
tion in which we are educating for an immortal life, and as prepa- 
ratory to our entering on higher scenes of contemplation and en- 
joyment. In this point of view, it is of importance to consider, 
that our present views and recollections will be carried along with 
us into that future world, that our virtues or vices will be as im- 
mortal as ourselves, and influence our future as well as our present 
happiness, and, consequently, that every study in which we en- 
gage, every disposition we now cultivate, and every action we 
perform, is to be regarded as pointing beyond the present to an 
unseen and eternal existence. 

If, then, we admit that the present state is connected with the 
future, and that the hour of death is not the termination of our 
existence, it must be a matter of the utmost importance that the 
mind of every candidate for immortality be tutored in those de- 
partments of knowledge which have a relation to the future world, 
and which will tend to qualify him for engaging in the employments, 
and for relishing the pleasures and enjoyments, of that state. The 
following remarks are intended to illustrate this position : — 

We may remark, in the first place, in general, that the know- 
ledge acquired in the present state, whatever be its nature, will be 
carried along with us when we wing our flight to the eternal ivorld. 
In passing into that world we shall not lose any of the mental 
faculties we now possess, nor shall we lose our identity, or con- 
sciousness of being the same persons we now feel ourselves to 
be ; otherwise, we behooved to be a different order of creatures, 
and consequently could not be the subjects either of reward or of 
punishment for any thing done in the present state. A destruc- 
tion of our faculties, or a total change of them, or the loss of 
consciousness, would be equivalent to an annihilation of our 



214 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Human Science connected with a Future State. 



existence. But if we carry into the future state all our moral 
and intellectual powers, we must also, of necessity, carry along 
with them all the recollections of the present life, and all the 
knowledge, both physical and moral, which these faculties ena- 
bled us to acquire. We have an exemplification of this in the 
parable of our Saviour respecting the rich man and Lazarus, 
where Abraham is represented as addressing the former in these 
words — " Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy 
good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things ;" evidently imply- 
ing, that the rich man retained the power of memory, that he pos- 
sessed a consciousness that he was the same thinking being that 
existed in a former state, and that he had a perfect recollection of 
the conduct he pursued, and the scenes in which he was placed 
in this sublunary world. If, then, it be admitted, that we shall 
be, substantially, the same intellectual beings as at present, 
though placed in different circumstances, and that the ideas and 
moral principles we now acquire will pass along with us into 
futurity, and influence our conduct and happiness in that state, — 
it cannot be a matter of indifference whether the mind of an im- 
mortal being be left to grope amid the mists of ignorance, and to 
sink into immortality, or be trained up in the knowledge of every 
thing that has a bearing on its eternal destination. On the con- 
trary, nothing can be of higher value and importance to every 
human being, considered as immortal, than to be trained to habits 
of reasoning and reflection, and to acquire that knowledge of his 
Creator, of himself, of his duty, and of the relations in which he 
stands to this world and to the next, which will qualify him for 
the society in which he is hereafter to mingle, and the part he has 
to act in a higher scene of action and enjoyment. For, as gross 
ignorance is the source of immoral action, and as immoral prin- 
ciples and habits unfit the soul for the pleasures and employments 
of an immortal state, the man who is allowed to remain amid the 
natural darkness of his understanding can have little hope of 
happiness in the future world, since he is destitute of those qua- 
lifications which are requisite in order to his relishing its en- 
joyments. 

Scientific knowledge, as well as that which is commonly desig- 
nated theological, is to be considered as having a relation to the 
future world. Science, as I have already had occasion to notice, 
is nothing else than an investigation of the Divine perfections 
and operations as displayed in the economy of the universe ; and 
we have every ground to conclude, both from reason and revela- 
tion, that such investigations will be carried forward, on a more 
enlarged scale, in the future w r orld, where the intellectual powers, 



KNOWLEDGE OF A FUTURE STATE. 215 



Present Knowledge the Ground-work of Future. 



freed from the obstructions which now impede their operation, 
will become more vigorous and expansive, and a more extensive 
scene of Divine operation be presented to the view. There are 
certain applications of scientific principles, indeed, which may 
have a reference solely to the condition of society in the present 
life, such as, in the construction of cranes, diving-bells, speaking- 
trumpets, steam-carriages, and fire-engines ; but the general prin- 
ciples on which such machines are constructed may be applicable 
to thousands of objects and operations in other worlds with which 
we are at present unacquainted. The views, however, which 
science has opened of the wisdom and benevolence of the Deity, 
of the multiplicity of ideas and conceptions which have existed 
in his infinite mind, of his almighty power, and of the boundless 
range of his operations — will not be lost when we enter into the 
eternal world. They will prepare the soul for higher scenes of 
contemplation, for acquiring more expansive views of Divine 

, perfection, and for taking more extensive and sublime excursions 
through the boundless empire of Omnipotence. The same may 
be affirmed of the principles of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, 
conic sections, and other departments of the mathematics, which 
contain truths that are eternal and unchangeable, and that are 
applicable in every mode of existence, and to the circumstances 

1 of all worlds. Such knowledge may form the groundwork of all 
our future improvements in the world beyond the grave, and give 
to those who have acquired it, in conjunction with the cultivation 
of moral principle, a superiority over others in the employments 
and investigations peculiar to that higher sphere of existence ; 
and, consequently, a more favourable and advantageous outset 
into the new and unknown regions of the invisible state. To 
suppose that the leading principles of scientific knowledge are of 

J utility only in the present world, is not only contrary to every 

I enlightened idea we can form of the future state, either from 
reason or revelation, but would remove some of the strongest 
motives which should induce us to engage in the prosecution of 
useful knowledge. If science is to be considered as altogether 
confined in its views and effects to the transitory scene of this 
mortal state, its attainment becomes a matter of comparatively 
trivial importance. To a man hastening to the verge of life, 
there could be no strong inducement to listen to its deductions 

ior to engage in its pursuits. But if the principles of science, 
when combined with the truths of revelation, extend to higher 
objects than the construction of machinery and the embellishment 
of human life, — if they point beyond the present to a future world, — 
if they tend to expand our views of the attributes of the Divinity, , 



216 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Importance of Enquiry concerning a Future Existence. 

and of the grandeur of his kingdom, — and if they prepare the 
mind for entering into more ample views and profound investiga- 
tions of his plans and operations, in that state of immortality to 
which we are destined, — it must be a matter of importance to 
every human being, that his mind be imbued with such know- 
ledge, as is introductory to the employments of that eternal world 
which lies before him. — But we may remark more particularly, 

In the second place, that the acquisition of general knowledge^ 
and habits of mental activity, would induce persons to serious in- 
quiries into the evidences of a future state. Although there are 
few persons, in a Christian country, who deny the existence of a 
future world, yet we have too much reason to believe that the 
great majority of the population in every country are not thoroughly 
convinced of this important truth, and that they pass their lives 
just as if the present were the ultimate scene of their destination. 
Notwithstanding all the " church-going" which is so common 
among us, both among the higher and the lower classes, and the 
numerous sermons which are preached in relation to this subject, 
it does not appear that the one-half of our population have any 
fixed and impressive belief of the reality of an eternal world. If 
it were otherwise, it would be more frequently manifested in their 
general temper, conversation, and conduct. But we find the 
great mass of society as keenly engaged in the all-engrossing 
pursuits of wealth and honours, as if the enjoyments of this world 
were to last forever. In general conversation in the social circle, 
the topic of a future world, and our relation to it, is studiously 
avoided. While a person may talk with the utmost ease about a 
projected voyage to America, the East Indies, or Van Diemen's 
Land, and the geographical peculiarities of these regions, and be 
listened to with pleasure, — were he to talk, in certain respectable 
companies, of his departure to another world, and of the important 
realities to which he will be introduced in that state, — were he 
even to suggest a hint that the scene of our eternal destination 
ought occasionally to form the subject of conversation, — either a 
sarcastic sneer or a solemn gloom would appear on every face, 
and he would be regarded us a wild enthusiast or a sanctimonious 
hypocrite. But why should men manifest such a degree of apathy 
in regard to this topic, and even an aversion to the very idea of 
it, if they live under solemn impressions of their connexion with 
an immortal existence ? Every one who admits the idea of a 
future world, must also admit that it is one of the most interesting 
and momentous subjects that can occupy his attention, and that 
it as far exceeds in importance the concerns of this life, as the 
ages of eternity exceed the fleeting periods of time. And if so, 



KNOWLEDGE PREPARATORY TO A FUTURE STATE. 217 



Evidences of Man's Immortality, 



why should we not appear as eager and interested in conversa- 
tion on this subject, as we sometimes are in relation to a voyage 
to some distant land ? Yet, among the majority of our fellow-men, 
there is scarcely any thing to which their attention is less direct- 
ed, and the very idea of it is almost lost amid the bustle of busi- 
ness, the acquisition of wealth, the dissipations of society, and the 
vain pageantry of fashionable life. 

Among many other causes of the indifference which prevails 
on this subject, ignorance and mental inactivity are none of the 
least. Immersed in sensual gratifications and pursuits, unac- 
quainted with the pleasures of intellect, and unaccustomed to 
rational trains of reflection, multitudes pass through life without 
any serious consideration of the future scene of another world, 
resolved, at the hour of dissolution, to take their chance with the 
generations that have gone before them. But were men once 
aroused to mental activity, and to the exercise of their reasoning 
powers on important objects, they would be qualified for investi- 
gating the evidences which demonstrate the immortality of man, 
which could not fail to impress their minds with a strong convic- 
tion of the dignity of their intellectual natures, and of their high 
destination. Those evidences are to be found in the Christian 
revelation, which has " brought life and immortality to light," and 
thrown a radiance on the scenes beyond the grave. But, even 
independently of revelation, the evidences which prove the 
immortal destiny of man, from the light of nature, are so strong 
and powerful, that, when weighed with seriousness and impar- 
tiality, they must appear satisfactory to every candid and inquir- 
ing mind. When we consider the universal belief of the doctrine 
of man's immortality which has prevailed in all ages and nations-— 
when we consider the desire of future existence implanted in the 
human breast — the noble intellectual faculties with which man is 
endowed, and the strong desire of knoivledge which forms a part 
of his constitution — the capacity of making perpetual progress 
towards intellectual and moral perfection — the unlimited range 
of view which is opened to the human faculties throughout the 
immensity of space and duration — the moral powers of action with 
which man is endowed, and their capacity of perpetual expansion 
and activity — the apprehensions and forebodings of the mind, 
when under the influence of remorse — the disordered state of the 
moral world when contrasted with the systematic order of the 
material — the unequal distribution of reiuards and punishments 
when viewed in connexion with the justice of God — the absurdity 
of admitting that the thinking principle in man xvill ever be anni- 
hilated — and the blasphemous and absurd consequences which 
19 



21S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Present Knowledge introductory to Future. 



would follow, if the idea of a future state of retribution were 
rejected ; when we attend to these and similar considerations, 
we perceive an assemblage of arguments, which, when taken in 
combination with each other, carry irresistible evidence to the 
mind of every unbiassed inquirer, that man is destined to an 
immortal existence — an evidence amounting to a moral demon- 
stration, and no less satisfactory than that on which we rest our 
belief of the existence of the Eternal Mind.* But the greater 
part of mankind, in their present untutored state, are incapable of 
entering into such inquiries and investigations. For want of 
moral and intellectual instruction, they may be said to " have 
eyes, but see not, ears, but hear not, neither do they understand," 
and hence, they pass through the scenes of mortality, almost 
unconscious of their relation to the eternal world, and altogether 
unprepared for its exercises and enjoyments. 

In the next place, the acquisition of knoivledge, in connexion 
with the cultivation of moral principles and Christian affections, 
would tend to prepare the mind for the intercourses and employ- 
ments of the future world. From divine revelation we are assured, 
that in the future state of happiness the righteous shall not only 
join the company of " the spirits of just men made perfect," but 
shall also be admitted into " the general assembly of angels." 
With these pure and superior intelligences, and, doubtless, too, 
with the inhabitants of other worlds, shall the redeemed inhabit- 
ants of our globe hold delightful intercourse, and join in their 
sublime conversation on the most exalted subjects. One of the 
employments in which they will be incessantly engaged will be, 
to contemplate the divine works and administration, and to 
investigate the wonders of creating power, wisdom, and good- 
ness, as displayed throughout the universe. For such are the 
representations given in Scripture of the exercises of the 
heavenly world. Its inhabitants are represented as raising the 
following song of praise to their Creator, — " Great and marvel- 
lous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ! Just and true are thy 
ways, thou King of saints ;" which evidently implies that both 
the wonders of his creation and the plan of his moral govern- 
ment are the subjects of their intense study and investigation. 
And in another scene exhibited in the book of Revelation, they 
are represented in the sublime adorations they offer to " Him who 
liveth for ever and ever," as exclaiming, " Thou art worthy, 

* For a full illustration of these and other evidences of a future state, along 
with various topics connected with this subject, the author respectfully refers 
his readers to a work which he lately published, entitled u The Philosophy of 
a Future State." 



KNOWLEDGE PREPARATORY TO A FUTURE STATE. 219 

Present Acquaintance with God and his Works necessary. 

O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power ; for thou hast 
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created ;" 
plainly indicating that the scenes of the material universe, and 
the divine perfections as displayed in them, are the objects of 
their incessant contemplation. 

Now, in order to our being prepared for such intercourses and 
employments, two grand qualifications are indispensably requisite. 
In the first place, the cultivation of moral principle and conduct, 
or, in other words, the attainment of that holiness which the Scrip- 
tures enjoin, " without which," we are assured, " no man can see 
the Lord ;" that is, can hold no delightful intercourse with him 
through the medium of his works and providential dispensations. 
1 Without this qualification we are altogether unfit for being intro- 
duced into the assembly of angels and other pure intelligences, and 
for joining with them in their holy services and sublime adorations 
; — as unfit as an ignorant Hottentot, a wild Bosheman, or the low- 
1 est dregs of society would be to take a part in an assembly of 
learned divines, statesmen, or philosophers. In order to a de- 
lightful association with any rank of intelligences, there must exist 
a certain congeniality of disposition and sentiment, without which 
an intimate intercourse would be productive of happiness to neither 
party. Persons of proud and revengeful dispositions, and ad- 
dicted to vicious indulgence, could find no enjoyment in a society 
where all is humility and affection, harmony and love ; nor could 
pure and holy beings delight in associating with them, without sup- 
posing the moral laws of the Creator and the constitution of the 
intelligent universe entirely subverted. Such characters are as 
opposite to each other as light and darkness ; and, therefore, we 
may as soon expect to make the east and west points to meet to- 
gether, or to stop the planets in their career, as to form an harmo- 
nious union between the ignorant and vicious, and the enlightened 
and virtuous inhabitants of the celestial world. In the next place, 
a knowledge of the character of God, of his moral dispensations, 
and of his works of creation, must form a preparation for the ex- 
ercises of the heavenly state ; since these are some of the subjects 
which occupy the attention of the " the innumerable company of 
els, and the spirits of just men made perfect." But how could 
e be supposed to engage in such studies, and to relish such 
mployments, if we remain altogether unacquainted with them till 
our spirits take their flight from these tabernacles of clay ? How 
could a man whose mind is continually grovelling among the 
^meanest and the most trivial objects, whose soul never rises above 
the level of his daily labours, which necessity compels him to 
perform, whose highest gratification is to carouse with his fellows, 



( 



220 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Pleasures of a Future Existence. 



to rattle a set of dice, or to shuffle a pack of cards, and who is 
incapable of prosecuting a train of rational thought — how could 
such a one be supposed qualified for entering, with intelligence 
and delight, into the sublime investigations and the lofty contem- 
plations which arrest the attention, and form the chief exercises 
11 of the saints in light V* There is an utter incongruity in the idea, 
that a rude and ignorant mind could relish the enjoyments of the 
heavenly world, unless it be enlightened and transformed into the 
image of its Creator ; and we have no warrant from revelation to 
conclude that such a transformation will be effected after the 
spirit has taken its flight to the invisible state. 

But it is easy to conceive what transporting pleasures will be 
felt by an enlightened and virtuous individual, when he is ushered 
into a scene where his prospects will be enlarged, his faculties 
expanded, and the causes which now obstruct their energies for 
ever removed. He will feel himself in his native element, will 
resume his former investigations on a more enlarged scale, and 
with more vigour and activity, and enjoy the prospect of perpe- 
tually advancing from one degree of knowledge and felicity to 
another throughout an interminable succession of existence. 
Having studied the moral character of God as displayed in his 
word and in the dispensations of his providence ; having acquir- 
ed, after all his researches, only a faint and imperfect glimpse of 
his moral attributes ; having met with many difficulties and laby- 
rinths in the movements of the divine government which he was 
altogether unable to unravel, which produced an ardent longing 
after a more enlarged sphere of vision — how gratifying to such a 
mind must it be to contemplate the divine character in the fulness 
of its glory, to behold the apparent inconsistencies of the divine 
government reconciled, its intricate mazes unravelled, its wisdom 
and rectitude displayed, and the veil which concealed from mor- 
tals the reasons of its procedure for ever withdrawn ! Having 
taken a cursory survey of the displays of divine wisdom and 
goodness in the arrangement of our sublunary system, and in the 
construction of the animal and vegetable tribes with which it is 
furnished ; having directed his views by the light of science to 
the celestial regions ; having caught a glimpse of the astonishing 
operations of Almighty Power in the distant spaces of the firma- 
ment ; having been overwhelmed with wonder and amazement at 
the extent and grandeur of the divine empire ; having cast many 
a longing look towards distant worlds, mingled with many anxious 
inquiries into their nature and destination which he was unable to 
resolve, and having felt an ardent desire to learn the history of 
their population, and to behold the scene of the universe a little 



KNOWLEDGE PREPARATORY TO A FUTURE STATE. 221 

Necessity of Fitness for a Future State. 

more unfolded — what transporting joys must be felt by such an 
individual, when he shall enter into a world where " he shall know 
even as also he is known ;" where the veil which intercepted his 
view of the wonders of creating power shall be removed ; where 
the cherubim and the seraphim, who have winged their flight 
through regions of immensity impassable by mortals, shall re- 
hearse the history of other worlds ; where the sphere of vision 
will be enlarged, the faculties invigorated, and the glories of Di- 
vine goodness, wisdom, and omnipotence displayed in all their 
effulgence ! Having familiarized such objects to his mind during 
the first stage of his existence, he will enter on the prosecution of 
new discoveries of Divine perfection with a renovated holy ardour, 
of which rude and grovelling minds are incapable, which will fill 
his soul with ecstatic rapture— even " with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory." 

Let us suppose, for the sake of illustration, two individuals of 
opposite characters entering the future world at the same time — 
the one rude, ignorant, and vicious ; and the other " renewed in 
the spirit of his mind," and enlightened with all the knowledge 
which science and revelation can furnish — it is evident that, 
although they were both ushered into the same locality, their state 
and enjoyments would be altogether different. The one would 
sink, as it were, to his natural level, following the principles, pro- 
pensities, and passions which he previously indulged ; and, although 
he were admitted into the society of pure and enlightened spirits, 
he would remain as a cheerless, insulated wretch, without intel- 
lectual activity, and destitute of enjoyment. Finding no pleasures 
suited to his benighted mind and his grovelling affections, he 
would be fain to flee to other regions and to more congenial 
associates, as the owl flies from the vocal grove and the society 
of the feathered choir, and prefers the shades of night to the beams 
of day. Like this gloomy bird, which delights in obscure retreats 
and rugged ruins, and has no relish for blooming gardens and 
fiowery meads — the unenlightened and unsanctified soul would 
feel itself unhappy and imprisoned, as it were, even amid triumph- 
ant spirits and the splendours of immortal day. Whereas the 
other, having ardently longed for such a state, and having pre- 
viously undergone the requisite preparation for its enjoyments, 
feels himself in a region suited to his taste, mingles with associates 
congenial to his disposition, engages in exercises to which he 
was formerly accustomed, and in which he delighted, beholds a 
prospect, boundless as the universe, rising before him, on which 
his faculties may be exercised with everlasting improvement and 
everlasting delight, and, consequently, experiences a " fulness of 
19* 



222 OX THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Future Condition determined by Present Conduct. 



joy" which can never be interrupted, but will be always increas- 
ing k ' world without end." 

Such arc the views we must necessarily adopt respecting the 
state and enjoyments of these two characters in the life to come ; 
and there is no resisting of the conclusion we have deduced 
respecting the ignorant and vicious individual, without supposing 
that something equivalent to a miracle will be performed in his 
behalf, immediately after his entrance into the invisible world, to 
fit him for the employments of a state of happiness. But for such 
an opinion we have no evidence either from Scripture or from 
reason. It would be contrary to every thing we know of the 
moral government of God ; it would strike at the foundation of 
all religion and morality ; it would give encouragement to igno- 
rance and vice; it would render nugatory all the efforts of a 
virtuous character to increase in knowledge and holiness during 
the present life, and it would give the ignorant and the licentious 
an equal reason for expecting eternal happiness in the world to 
come, as the most profound Christian philosophers, or the most 
enlightened or pious divines. Besides, we are assured by the 
44 Faithful and True Witness," that, as in the future world, " he 
who is righteous shall remain righteous still," so " he who is 
unjust shall remain unjust still, and he who is filthy shall remain 
filthy still ;" which expressions seem evidently to imply, that no 
more opportunities will be granted for reforming what had been 
amiss, and recovering the polluted and unrighteous soul to purity 
and rectitude.* 

If, then, it appears, that we shall carry the knowledge and moral 
habits we acquire in this life along with us into the other world, — 
and if a certain portion of rational and religious information and 
moral principle is essentially requisite to prepare us for the em- 
ployments and felicities of that state — by refusing to patronise 
every scheme by which a general diffusion of knowledge may be 
promoted, we not only allow our fellow-men to wander amid the 
mists of superstition, and to run heedlessly into numerous dangers, 

* Whatever opinion we may form as to the doctrine of Universal Restoration, 
— it will be admitted, even by the abetters of that doctrine, that an unholy 
and unenlightened soul is unfit for celestial happiness on its first entrance into 
the future world, and thousands or millions of years, or a period equivalent to 
what is included in the phrase " ages of ages," may elapse before it is fit for 
being restored to the dignity of its nature and the joys of heaven. Even on 
this supposition (although it were warranted by Scripture), the preparation 
of human beings in the present life for a state of future happiness must be a 
matter of the highest importance, since it prevents the sufferings denoted by 
" devouring fire, weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth," during theindefi- 
finite and long-conunued period of " ages of ages." 



KNOWLEDGE OF REVELATION. 223 

■■-■■■■ ■■- ■ ■ ■ .-., t| — r 

Importance of a Knowledge of Revelation. 

f ■ ■ ■■. .... 

both physical and moral, we not only deprive them of exquisite in- 
tellectual enjoyments, and prevent the improvement of the arts and 
sciences, but we deprive them, in a certain degree, of the chance of 
obtaining happiness in a state of immortality. For as ignorance is 
the parent of vice, and as vicious propensities and indulgences ne- 
cessarily lead to misery both here and hereafter, the man whose mind 
is left to grope amid intellectual darkness can enjoy no well-found- 
ed hope of felicity in the life to come, since he is unqualified for the 
associations, the contemplations, and the employments of that 
future existence. As in the material creation light was the first 
substance created before the chaos was reduced to beauty and 
order, so, in the intellectual world, knowledge, or light in the un- 
derstanding, is the first thing which restores the moral system to 
harmony and order. It is the commencement of every process 
that leads to improvement, comfort, and moral order in this life, 
and that prepares us for the enjoyments of the life to come. But 
ignorance is both the emblem and the prelude of M the blackness 
of darkness for ever." This is one of the most powerful considera- 
tions which should induce every philanthropist to exert every nerve, 
and to further every scheme which has for its object to diffuse 
liberty, knowledge, and moral principle among all the inhabitants 
of the earth. 



SECTION IX. 

On the Utility of General Knowledge in relation to the Study of 

Divine Revelation. 

Of all the departments of knowledge to which the human mind 
can be directed, there is none of greater importance than that 
which exhibits the real character and condition of man as a moral 
agent — his relation to the Deity — his eternal destiny — the way in 
which he may be delivered from the effects of moral evil — and 
the worship and service he owes to his Almighty Creator. On 
these and kindred topics the Christian revelation affords the most 
clear and satisfactory information, and the details which it fur- 
nishes on these subjects are of the highest moment, and deeply in- 
teresting to every inhabitant of the globe. But ignorance, leagued 
with depravity and folly, has been the cause that the sacred oracj^s 
have so frequently been treated with indifference and contempt ; 
and that those who have professed to recognize them as the inti- 
mations of the will of the Deity have been prevented from study- 



224 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Evidences of Christianity. 



ing them with intelligence, and contemplating the facts they ex- 
hibit in all their consequences and relations. 

In order to a profitable study of the doctrines, facts, and prophe- 
cies contained in the Bible, it is requisite, in the first place, that 
a deep and thorough conviction be produced in the mind that they 
are indeed the revelations of Heaven, addressed to man on earth 
to direct his views and conduct as an accountable agent, and a 
candidate for immortality. From ignorance of the evidences on 
which the truth of Christianity rests, multitudes of thoughtless 
mortals have been induced to reject its authority, and have glided 
down the stream of licentious pleasure, "sporting themselves with 
their own deceivings," till they landed in wretchedness and ruin. 
The religion of the Bible requires only to be examined with care, 
and studied with humility and reverence, in order to produce a 
full conviction of its celestial origin ; and wherever such disposi- 
tions are brought into contact with a calm and intelligent investi- 
gation of the evidences of revelation, and of the facts and doc- 
trines it discloses, the mind will not only discern its superiority to 
every other system of religion but will perceive the beauty and 
excellence of its discoveries, and the absolute necessity of their 
being studied and promulgated in order to raise the human race 
from that degradation into which they have been so long im- 
mersed, and to promote the renovation of the moral world. And 
those objections and difficulties which previously perplexed and 
harassed the inquirer will gradually evanish, as the mists of the 
morning before the orb of day. 

The evidences of Christianity have been generally distributed 
into the external and the internal. The external may again be 
divided into direct and collateral. The direct evidences are such 
as arise from the nature, consistency, and probability of the facts ; 
and from the simplicity, uniformity, competency, and fidelity of 
the testimonies by which they are supported. The collateral 
evidences are those which arise from the concurrent testimonies 
of heathen writers, or others, which corroborate the history of 
Christianity, and establish its leading facts. The internal evi- 
dences arise, either from the conformity of the announcements of 
revelation to the known character of God, from their aptitude to 
the frame and circumstances of man, or from those convictions 
impressed upon the mind by the agency of the Divine Spirit. 

In regard to the external evidences, the following propositions 
can be supported both from the testimonies of profane writers, the 
Scriptures of the New Testament, and other ancient Christian wri- 
tings : viz. 1 . " That there is satisfactory evidence that many profess- 
ing to be original witnesses of the ChristiuK miracles passed their 



EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF REVELATION. 225 

Authenticity of the Scriptures. 



lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in 
attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in con- 
sequence of their belief of those accounts ; and that they also 
submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct." 
And, 2. " That there is not satisfactory evidence, that persons 
pretending to be original witnesses of any other miracles have 
acted in the same manner, in attestation of the accounts which 
they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of the 
truth of these accounts. These propositions can be substan- 
tiated to the conviction of every serious and unbiassed inquirer ; 
they form the basis of the external evidence of the Christian re- 
ligion; and when their truth is clearly discerned, the mind is irre- 
sistibly led to the conclusion, that the doctrines and facts promul- 
gated by the first propagators of Christianity are true. 

The following propositions can also be satisfactorily proved : 
viz. That the Jewish religion is of great antiquity, and that Moses 
was its founder, — that the books of the Old Testament were ex- 
tant long before the Christian era; a Greek translation of them 
having been laid up in the Alexandrian library in the days of 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, — that these books are in the main genuine p 
and the histories they contain w T orthy of credit, — that many ma- 
terial facts which are recorded in the Old Testament are also 
mentioned by very ancient heathen writers, — that Christianity is 
not a modern religion, but was professed by great multitudes 
nearly 1800 years ago, — that Jesus Christ, the founder of this 
religion, was crucified at Jerusalem during the reign of Tiberius 
Caesar, — that the first publishers of this religion wrote books 
containing an account of the life and doctrines of their Master, 
several of which bore the names of those books which now make 
up the JVew Testament, — that these books were frequently quoted 
and referred to by numerous writers, from the days of the 
apostles to the fourth century and downwards, — that they are 
genuine, or written by the authors w 7 hose names they bear, — that 
the histories they contain are in the main agreeable to those facts 
which were asserted by the first preachers, and received by 
the first converts to Christianity, — that the facts, whether natural 
or supernatural, which they record, are transmitted to us with 
as great a degree of evidence (if not greater) as any histori- 
cal fact recorded by historians of allowed character and repu- 
tation, — and that these books were written under a superintend- 
ing inspiration. These and a variety of similar propositions 
intimately connected with them can be fully substantiated ; and 
the necessary conclusion of the whole is, that Christianity is 
a revelation from God to man, and that its truths are to be 



226 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Evidence of Miracles. 



believed, and its precepts practised by all to whom they are 
addressed. 

Miracles form one part of the external evidence by which re- 
vealed religion is supported. If God, in compassion to our be- 
nighted and bewildered race, has thought fit to communicate a 
revelation of his will, there is no conceivable mode by which that 
revelation could be more powerfully attested, than by empowering/ 
the messengers whom he inspired to work miracles, as attesta- 
tions of the truth of the doctrines they declared. Accordingly 
we rind, that at the introduction of both the Jewish and the 
Christian dispensations, a series of uncontrolled miracles was 
exhibited to those to whom the messengers of revelation were 
sent, as evidences that they acted under the authority of the Cre- 
ator of the universe. Under the administration of Moses, who 
founded the Jewish economy, the waters of Egypt were turned 
into blood, darkness covered all that country for three days, 
thunders and hail terrified its inhabitants and destroyed the fruits 
of their ground, and all their first-born were slain by a celestial 
messenger in one night ; the Red Sea was parted asunder, the 
tribes of Israel passed in safety through its waves, while their 
enemies " sank as lead in the mighty waters ;" water was 
brought from the flinty rock, manna from heaven was rained 
down to supply the wants of two millions of human beings in a 
barren wilderness ; Mount Sinai was made to tremble to its cen- 
tre, and was surrounded with flames and smoke ; Korah, Dathan, 
and Abiram, with all the thousands that joined their conspiracy, 
were by a miraculous earthquake swallowed up in a moment ; 
Jordan was divided when its waters overflowed its banks, and at 
the sound of horns the strong walls of Jericho fell prostrate to 
the ground. When Jesus Christ introduced the Gospel dispen- 
sation, he gave incontrovertible proofs of his divine mission, by 
curing diseases of every description merely by his word, causing 
the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the 
blind to see ; raising the dead to life, stilling the tempestuous 
waves and the stormy wind ; turning water into wine, feeding 
five thousand men in a wilderness on a few loaves and fishes ; 
and particularly by his own resurrection from the dead, after he 
had been " crucified and slain." These, as well as the miracles 
wrought by Moses, were demonstrative evidences of the agency 
and interference of the Most High ; they were completely be- 
yond the power of mere human agency, and were altogether dif- 
ferent from the tricks of jugglers and impostors. They were per- 
formed in the open face of day, in the presence of multitudes 
of persons of eveiy description ; they were level to the compre- 



EVIDENCE OP MIRACLES. 227 

Resurrection of Christ. 

hension of every man whose faculties and senses were in a sound 
state ; and the conclusion which every unbiassed mind behooved 
to draw from them was, that " no man could do such miracles 
unless God was with him ;" and consequently, that the truths 
declared by those who were empowered to perform them are the 
revelations of heaven ; for it would be inconsistent with the na- 
ture of the Divine Being to suppose that he would interpose his 
almighty power to control the laws of nature, for the purpose of 
giving his sanction to falsehood or imposture. 

Of the reality of the miraculous events to which I have alluded, 
we have as high a degree of evidence as we have for the reality 
of any other fact recorded in the Scriptures or in the history of 
the world. The single fact of the Resurrection of Christ, — a 
fact so important in the Christian system, and with which all 
its other facts and doctrines are essentially connected, — rests 
upon a weight of evidence so great, that the rejection of it would 
be almost equivalent to the adoption of universal skepticism. 
This fact does not rest upon the testimony of an unknown indi- 
vidual, or even of an unknown multitude, but on the twelve 
apostles who had been previously chosen for this purpose, who 
had accompanied their Master in all his journeys, who had been 
the witnesses of his miracles, sufferings, and crucifixion, and 
who affirmed, without the least hesitation, and in the face of every 
threatening and persecution, that they had seen him alive at dif- 
ferent times, and held intimate converse with him, after he had 
risen from the dead. It rests likewise on the testimony of the 
seventy disciples, and on that of the five hundred brethren who 
had seen the Lord after his resurrection. These persons had 
full opportunity of information as to the fact they asserted ; they 
could not be deceived, for it was brought within the evidence of 
their senses. They saw the body of the Lord Jesus after he 
had been crucified and laid in the tomb — not with a passing 
glance, but at different times and in divers places ; they had an 
opportunity of handling it to convince them it was no phantom ; 
they heard him speak, and entered into intimate conversation 
with him on the subject of their future ministry. They saw him, 
not only separately, but together ; not only by night, but by day ; 
not at a distance, but immediately before them. And as they 
could not be deceived themselves, they could have no motive for 
deceiving others ; for they were aware, that by so doing they ex- 
posed themselves to scorn, persecution, sufferings, and death it- 
self, without the most distant hope of recompense either in this 
world or in another. Their character and conduct were strictly 
watched and scrutinized. Their enemies had taken every pre- 



22S ON TIIF, GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Evidence of Prophecy. 



caution which human wisdom could devise, to prevent the dead 
body of their Master from being removed from the sepulchre, 
cither by fraud or by violence, and to secure the public from being 
deluded by any attempt at imposture. And yet, only a few days 
after he was buried, and in the very place where he was crucified, 
his resurrection was publicly asserted and proclaimed ; and no 
attempt was made on the part of the Jewish rulers to invalidate 
the testimony of the apostles, by producing the dead body of him 
whom they had crucified — on whose tomb they had set a seal 
and a guard of Roman soldiers. For it is evident, that if his 
body could have been found, they would have produced it as the 
shortest and most decisive confutation of the story of the resur- 
rection. All these circumstances being considered, to suppose 
that the apostles either were deceived, or attempted to deceive 
the world, would be to admit a miracle as great as that of the re- 
surrection itself. But if the fact of Christ's resurrection be ad- 
mitted, the truth of the evangelical history and of the doctrines 
of Christianity follows as a necessary consequence. 

Prophecy forms another branch of the external evidences of 
religion. As God alone can perceive with certainty the future 
actions of free agents,, and the remote consequences of those 
laws of nature which he himself established — prophecy, when 
clearly fulfilled, affords the most convincing evidence of an inti- 
mate and supernatural communion between God and the person 
who uttered the prediction. It is evident, however, that prophecy 
was never intended as an evidence of an original revelation. 
From its very nature it is totally unfit for such a purpose, because 
it is impossible, without some extrinsic proof of its divine origin, 
to ascertain whether any prophecy be true or false, till the period 
arrive when it ought to be accomplished. But when it is ful- 
filled, it affords complete evidence that he who uttered it spake 
by the Spirit of God, and that the doctrines he taught were dic- 
tated by the same Spirit, and consequently true. To us, there- 
fore, who live in an age posterior to the fulfilment of many of 
the ancient prophecies, and while some of them are actually ac- 
complishing, the fulfilment of these predictions forms a powerful 
and striking evidence of the divine authority of the writers both 
of the Old and the New Testament. 

The first prophecy which was given forth in the garden of 
Eden, that " the seed of the woman should bruise the head of 
the serpent," and the predictions of the Jewish prophets respecting 
the appearance, the miracles, the sufferings, the death, resurrec- 
tion, and subsequent glory of Messiah, and the opposition he 
was to endure from the people to whom he was sent, were lite- 



EVIDENCE OF PROPHECY. 229 



The Arabs. 



rally accomplished, when Jesus Christ appeared in the world ; 
and the narrations of the evangelists may be considered as a 
commentary upon these ancient prophecies. The deliverance of 
the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, and its accomplishment 
by Cyrus, — the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, fore- 
told by Jeremiah, — the succession of the Assyrian, Persian, 
Grecian, and Roman monarchies, — th« persecution of the Jews 
I under Antiochus Epiphanes, and the erection of the papal king- 
i dom foretold by Daniel, — and the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
I the dreadful miseries which should befall its inhabitants, foretold 
! by Jesus Christ, have all received their accomplishment, accord- 

■ ing to the spirit and import of the original predictions, and this 
accomplishment is imbodied in the history of nations. 

| But there are prophecies which were uttered several thousands 
. of years ago, of the accomplishment of which we have sensible 

< evidence at the present moment, if we look around us and con- 
! sider the state of the nations and empires of the world. For ex- 
ample, it was prophesied respecting Ishmael, the son of Abraham, 

1 " that he should be a wild man ; that his hand should be against 
I every man, and every man's hand against him ; that he should 
I dwell in the presence of all his brethren ; that he should be mul- 
[ tiplied exceedingly, beget twelve princes, and become a great 
> nation." This prediction has been literally accomplished in the 
[ Arabs, the undoubted descendants of Ishmae], who, for time im- 
« memorial, have been robbers by land and pirates by sea ; and 
| though their hands have been against every man, and every man's 
i hand against them, they have always dwelt, and at this day still 
dwell, in " the presence of their brethren," a free and independent 
i people. The greatest conquerors in the world have attempted 
I to subdue them, but their attempts uniformly failed of success. 
i When they appeared on the brink of ruin, they were singnally and 
1 providentially delivered. Alexander was preparing an expedi- 
tion against them, when he was cut off in the flower of his age. 
: Pompey was in the career of his conquest, when urgent affairs 
I called him to another quarter. Gallius had penetrated far into 

< their country, when a fatal disease destroyed great numbers of 
j his men, and obliged him to return. Trajan besieged their capital 

city ; but was defeated by thunder, and lightning, and whirlwinds. 
i Severus besieged the same city twice, and was twice repelled 
I from before it. Even the Turks have been unable to subdue the 
| Arabs, or even to restrain their depredations ; and they are 
i obliged to pay them a sort of annual tribute for the safe passage 
] of the pilgrims who go to Mecca to pay their devotions. The 

■ curse pronounced upon Ham, the father of Canaan, could also be 

20 



230 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

The Jews. 

shown to have been signally accomplished in the case of the 
Canaanites, and the Africans, their descendants, who have been 
literally " a servant of servants to their brethren." They were 
under the dominion, first of the Romans, then of the Saracens, 
and now of the Turks. And in what ignorance, barbarity, slavery, 
and misery do most of them remain ! Many thousands of them 
are every year bought and sold, like beasts in the market, and 
conveyed from one quarter of the world to do the work of beasts 
in another. The present state of Babylon is also a striking ac- 
complishment of the denunciations of ancient prophecy. When 
we consider the vast extent and magnificence of that ancient city, 
" the glory of kingdoms and the beauty of the Chaldee's excel- 
lency," we should have thought it almost impossible that it should 
have become " an utter desolation," that " the wild beasts should 
cry in its desolate houses, and dragons in its pleasant palaces," 
and that " it should never be inhabited nor dwelt in from genera- 
tion to generation," as the prophet Isaiah had foretold, several 
hundreds of years prior to its destruction, and when it was flourish- 
ing in the height of its glory.* Yet we know for certain, that this 
once magnificent metropolis, whose hanging gardens were reck- 
oned one of the seven wonders of the world, has become so com- 
plete a desolation, that the besom of destruction has left scarcely 
a single trace of its former grandeur ; and it is a subject of dis- 
pute among travellers, whether the exact site on which it was built 
be yet ascertained. 

In short, the present state of the Jews, compared with ancient 
predictions, is one of the most striking and convincing proofs of 
the literal fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies. The fol- 
lowing prediction respecting them was uttered more than 1700 
years before the commencement of the Christian era : *' The 
Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the 
earth even unto the other. And among those nations shalt thou 
find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest ; but the 
Lord shall give thee a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and 
sorrow of mind." — " And thou shalt become an astonishment, a 
proverb, and a by-word, among all the nations whither the Lord 
shall lead you."j* The whole history of the Jewish nation since 
the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as the present state of that 
singular people, forms a striking commentary upon these ancient 
predictions, and shows that they have been fully and literally ac- 
complished. The Jews, it is well known, have been dispersed 
almost over the whole face of the globe for more than seventeen 

* Isaiah xiii. 19—22. f Deut. ch. xxviii. 



EVIDENCE OF PROPHECY. 231 



The Jews. 



hundred years ; they have been despised and hated by all nations ; 
they have suffered the most cruel persecutions ; " their life has 
hung in doubt before them, and they have feared day and night," 
both for their property and their lives ; they have been sold in 
multitudes, like cattle in the market ; they have been exposed on 
public theatres, to exhibit fights, or be devoured by wild beasts. 
So strong were popular prejudices and suspicions against them, 
that in the year 1348, on suspicion of their having poisoned the 
springs and wells, a million and a half of them were cruelly mas- 
sacred. In 1492, 500,000 of them were driven out of Spain, 
and 150,000 from Portugal, and even at the present moment they 
are, inmost places, subject to both civil incapacities and unchris- 
tian severities. Yet, notwithstanding the hatred and contempt in 
which they are held, wherever they appear, they are most obsti- 
nately tenacious of the religion of their fathers, although their an- 
cestors were so prone to apostatize from it ; and although most 
of them seem to be utter strangers to piety, and pour contempt 
on the moral precepts of their own law, they are most obstinately 
attached to the ceremonial institutions of it, burdensome and in- 
convenient as they are. They have never been amalgamated 
with any of the nations among which they dwelt ; they remain a 
distinct people, notwithstanding their numerous dispersions ; their 
numbers are not diminished ; and, were they collected into one 
body, they would form a nation as numerous and powerful as in 
the most flourishing periods of the Jewish commonwealth. The 
existence of the Jews in such circumstances, as a distinct nation, 

< so contrary to the history of every other nation, and to the course 
of human affairs in similar cases, may justly be considered as a 
standing miracle for the truth of Divine revelation. Such a scene 
in the conduct of the Divine government cannot be paralleled in 
the history of any other people on the face of the earth ; and their 

1 being permitted so long to survive the dissolution of their own 
state, and to continue a distinct nation, is doubtless intended for 
the accomplishment of another important prediction, viz. that 
" they may return and seek the Lord their God, and David their 
king, and fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days." In 
the present day, we perceive a tendency towards this wished-for 
consummation. Within these last thirty years, a greater number 
of Jews has been converted to the profession of the Christian 
faith than had happened for a thousand years before. And when 

i they shall be collected from all the regions in which they are now 

< scattered, and brought to the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as 
the true Messiah, and to submission to his laws, and reinstated 
either in their own land or in some other portion of the globe, 



232 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Majesty of the Scriptures. 



such an event will form a sensible demonstration of the divinity 
of our religion, level to the comprehension of all nations, and 
which all the sneers and sophisms of skeptics and infidels will 
never be able to withstand. 

The internal evidences of Christianity are those which are de- 
duced from the nature of the facts, doctrines, and moral precepts 
which it reveals, and from the harmony and consistency of all 
its parts. The following is a brief summary of the leading views 
which may be taken of this subject. 

1. The dignity and majesty of the style in which many portions 
of the Scriptures are written, and the sublimity of many of the 
ideas and sentiments they contain, are strong presumptions of their 
divine original. This is strikingly exhibited in all those cases in 
which the perfections and operations of the Deity are brought 
into view, as in such passages as the following, — " He hangeth 
the earth upon nothing ; he bindeth up the waters in his thick 
clouds ; he hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day 
and night come to an end ; the pillars of heaven tremble and are 
astonished at his reproof. He divideth the sea by his great power ; 
by his spirit he hath garnished the heavens. Lo, these are only 
parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him, and 
the thunder of his power who can comprehend V — " By the word 
of the Lord were the heavens made ; he spake and it was done, 
he commanded and it stood fast." — " Great is Jehovah, and of 
great power : his greatness is unsearchable, his understanding is 
infinite ; marvellous things doth he, which we cannot compre- 
hend." — " The heaven, even the heaven of heavens cannot con- 
tain him ; he hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his 
kingdom ruleth over all. He doth according to his will in the army 
of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can 
stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou?' — "Who hath 
measured the ocean in the hollow of his hand, and meted out 
heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in 
a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in 
a balance. Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or, being 
his counsellor, hath taught him ? Behold, the nations are as a drop 
of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. 
Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. All na- 
tions before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him less 
than nothing, and vanity." These and many similar passages to 
be found in the sacred writings, far surpass, in dignity of language 
and sublimity of sentiment, every thing that is to be found in the 
writings of the most celebrated poets and philosophers of Greece 
and Rome. If we take the most animated poems of Homer, 



INTERNAL EVIDENCES OP REVELATION. 233 

Majesty of Jehovah. 



Virgil, or Horace, and read them in a prose translation, as we do 
the Scriptures, they appear flat and jejune, and their spirit is al- 
most evaporated ; and the words they put into the mouths of their 
deities, and the actions they ascribe to them, are frequently both 
ridiculous and absurd, calculated to excite hatred and contempt, 
instead of adoration and reverence. But the Scriptures preserve 
their sublimity and glory even in the most literal translation, and such 
a translation into any language is always found to be the best ; 
and it has uniformly happened, that those who have presumed to 
heighten the expressions by a poetical translation or paraphrase 
have failed in the attempt. It indicates an utter want of true taste 
in any man to despise or undervalue these writings. Were it not 
that the sacred penmen lay claim to the inspiration of the Al- 
mighty, and consequently, set themselves in direct opposition to 
pride, lasciviousness, revenge, and every other unholy principle 
and passion, the Bible, in point of the beauty and sublimity of its 
sentiments, and the variety of interesting information it conveys, 
would be prized more highly by every man of taste than all the 
other writings either of poets, philosophers, or historians which 
have descended to us from the remotest ages of antiquity. 

2. The Christian religion exhibits the most rational, sublime, and 
consistent views of the Divine Being. It represents him as self- 
existent and independent, and as " the high and lofty One who 
inhabited eternity," before the universe was brought into exist- 
ence, in whose sight " a thousand years are as one day, and one 
day as a thousand years." It represents him as filling the im- 
mensity of space with his presence, as having the most intimate 
knowledge of all creatures and events throughout the vast crea- 
tion, as the Creator of heaven and earth, as possessed of un- 
controllable power, infinite wisdom and intelligence, boundless 
benevolence and mercy, perfect rectitude and holiness, and invio- 
lable faithfulness and truth. It represents his providential care 
as extending to all the creatures he has formed, and to all their 
movements, however numerous or minute ; animating the vege- 
table and animal tribes, setting bounds to the raging billows, 
" thundering marvellously with his voice, sending lightnings with 
rain," having " his way in the whirlwind and the storm," making 
" the earth to quake at his presence," shining in the stars, glow- 
ing in the sun, and moving with his hands the mighty worlds 
which compose the universe. It represents him as governing the 
universe of minds which he has formed, as having the " hearts" 
and purposes " of all men in his hand," and as directing all the 
mysterious and wonderful powers of knowledge and moral action 
to fulfil his purposes throughout the whole extent of his immense 
20* 



234 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Assurance of a Future Existence. 



and eternal empire. Such a Being, when properly contemplated, 
is calculated to draw forth the love and adoration of all rational 
beings ; and wherever Christianity has imparted a knowledge of 
these attributes of the Divinity, idolatry and superstition, with all 
their absurdities, abominations, and horrid cruelties, have gradu- 
ally disappeared. 

3. Christianity has given us full assurance of the immortality 
of man, and of a future state of punishments and rewards. No- 
thing can be of more importance to every human being than to 
be assured of his eternal destination. Without the discoveries of 
Christianity, we can attain to no absolute certainty on this mo- 
mentous subject. The greatest philosophers of the heathen world 
considered the arguments in favour of man's immortal destiny as 
amounting only to a certain degree of probability, and their minds 
were continually hanging in doubt and uncertainty, as to what 
might befall them at the hour of dissolution. The most powerful 
arguments in proof of a future retribution are founded on the 
justice, the benevolence, and the wisdom of the Deity ; but it is 
questionable whether we should ever have acquired clear concep- 
tions of these attributes of the Divinity without the aid of the 
revelations of the Bible. On this most important point, however, 
Christianity dissipates every obscurity, dispels every doubt, and 
sets the doctrine of " life and immortality" beyond the grave, in 
the clearest light, not by metaphysical reasonings, unintelligible to 
the bulk of mankind, but by the positive declarations of him who 
hath " all power in heaven and on earth." It gives full assurance 
to all who devote themselves to the service of God, and conform 
to his will, that " when their earthly tabernacles are dissolved, 
they have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eter- 
nal in the heavens ;" and that " the afflictions" to which they are 
now exposed " work out for them an eternal weight of glory." 
And to console them in the prospect of dropping their bodies into 
the grave, they are assured, that the period is approaching when 
their mental frame " shall put on immortality," and when " all who 
are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and 
shall come forth, they that have done good to the resurrection 
of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of con- 
demnation." 

4. Christianity clearly points oat the way by which pardon of sin 
may be obtained by the guilty. Reason discovers that man is 
guilty, and at the same time perceives that a sinner deserves pu- 
nishment. Hence, the remorse and the fears with which the con- 
sciences of sinners in (very age have been tormented. " Where- 
withal shall I come before the Lord ? Shalll come with thousands 



INTERNAL EVIDENCES OF REVELATION. 235 

Christianity the best System of ^Morality. 

of burnt- offerings 1 Shall I offer my first-born for my transgres- 
sions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?" are the anxious 
inquiries of every sinner who feels conscious that he has violated 
the laws of Heaven. Hence the numerous modes by which pagan 
nations have attempted to appease the wrath of their deities ; hence 
their sacrifices, their burnt-offerings, their bodily tortures, their 
human victims, and the rivers of blood which have flowed in their 
temples and upon their altars. But reason could never prove 
that by any of these modes sin could be expiated, and the Deity 
rendered propitious. Christianity alone unfolds the plan of re- 
demption, and the way by which guilty men may obtain forgiveness 
and acceptance in the sight of him whose laws they have violated. 
It declares, "that Christ Jesus died for our offences, and rose again 
for our justification ;" that " God hath set him forth as a propitiation 
to declare his righteousness in the remission of sins," and that, 
having made so costly a sacrifice for the sins of the world, he will 
refuse nothing that can contribute to the present and everlasting 
happiness of the believer in Jesus. " He who spared not his own 
Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also 
freely give us all things V 9 Such declarations, when cordially 
received, are sufficient to allay all the fears of a guilty conscience, 
to inspire the soul with holy love and gratitude, and to produce 
" a peace of mind that passeth all understanding." 

5. Christianity inculcates the purest and most comprehensive 
system of morality. Its moral requisitions are all comprehended 
under the two following rules or principles, " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart," and " Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bour as thyself," which diverge into numberless ramifications. It 
could easily be shown, that these principles are sufficient to 
form the basis of a moral code for the whole intelligent creation, 
that they are calculated to unite the creature to the Creator, and 
all rational beings with one another, wherever they may exist 
throughout the boundless empire of the Almighty ; and that peace, 
order, and happiness whould be the invariable and necessary results 
wherever their influence extended. If the love of God reigned 
supreme in every heart, there would be no superstition or idolatry 
in the universe, nor any of the crimes and abominations with which 
they have been accompanied in our world, — no blasphemy or pro- 
fanation of the name of Jehovah, — no perjury, hypocrisy, arro- 
gance, pride, ingratitude, nor mumurings under the allotments of 
Divine Providence. And if every moral intelligence loved his 
fellow-creatures as himself, there would be no rivalships and an- 
tipathies between nations, and, consequently, no wars, devastation, 
nor carnage, — no tyranny, haughtiness, or oppression among the 



236 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Superiority of the Precepts of Christianity. 



great, nor envy, discontent, or insubordination among the lower 
classes of society, — no systems of slavery, nor persecutions on 
account of religious opinions, — no murders, thefts, robberies, or 
assassinations, — no treacherous frendships, nor fraud and deceit 
in commercial transactions, — no implacable resentments among 
friends and relatives, and no ingratitude or disobedience among 
children or servants. On the other hand, meekness, long-suffer- 
ing, gentleness, humility, temperance, fidelity, brotherly-kindness, 
and sacred joy, would pervade every heart, and transform our 
world from a scene of contention and misery to a moral paradise. 
The comprehensive nature of these laws or principles, and their 
tendency to produce universal order and happiness among all in- 
telligences, form, therefore, a strong presumptive argument of 
their divine original. 

There are certain Christian precepts, different from all that 
were ever taught by the sages of the pagan world, and in direct 
opposition to their most favourite maxims, which might be shown 
to have the same beneficial tendency. For example, it is one of 
the precepts laid down by the Founder of our religion, " Resist 
not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn 
to him the other also, " &c; and in accordance with this precept 
he propounds the following : " Love your enemies, do good to 
them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you 
and persecute you." And he enforces it by one of the most 
sublime and beautiful motives, " That ye may be the children of 
your Father who is in heaven, for he maketh his sun to rise on 
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 
unjust." Now, these precepts of morality are not only original, 
and peculiar to the Christian system, but they are in direct op- 
position to all the virtues generally denominated heroic, and which 
are so much celebrated by the poets, philosophers, and historians 
of antiquity. While the annals of history proclaim that the exer- 
cise of the heroic virtues (among which are classed implacability 
and revenge) has banished peace from the world, and covered the 
earth with devastation and bloodshed, it could easily be shown, 
that were the virtues inculcated by our Saviour universally 
practised, there would not be an enemy on the face of the globe, 
wars would cease to the ends of the earth, and the whole world 
would form one vast community of friends and brethren. Where- 
as, were the opposite dispositions universal, and uncontrolled by 
any counteracting principle, they would produce a scene of uni- 
\<:stl contention and misery throughout the moral universe. 
Another disposition peculiar to the Christian system, and which 
is enforce d throughout both the Old and n.e New Testament, is 



MORAL LAWS OF REVELATION. 



23? 



Christian Virtues truly Heroic. 



humility. So little was this disposition regardecTby the ancient 
heathen world, that in the classical languages of Greece and 
Rome there is no word to denote the virtue of humility. It is 
a quality, however, which results so naturally out of the relation 
in which man stands to his Maker, and is so correspondent to the 
low rank which he holds in the scale of universal being, that the 
religion which so powerfully enjoins it may be said to have " a 
sign from heaven" that it proceeds from God. And in his inter'* 
courses in society, a man will always find that there is a far 
higher degree of quiet and satisfaction to be enjoyed by hum- 
bling himself, than by endeavouring to humble others ; for every 
arrogant and haughty spirit will uniformly smart under the feel- 
ings of wounded pride and disappointed ambition. 

The Christian virtues to which I have now adverted ought not 
to be considered as the characteristics of a mean and unmanly spi- 
rit, or as contrary to the dignity and energy of the human cha- 
racter. The apostles and first Christians, who uniformly prac- 
tised these virtues, were distinguished by undaunted fortitude and 
almost unparalleled intrepidity. They advocated their cause, 
before princes and rulers, with the utmost dignity and composure ; 
they were ready to suffer the greatest persecutions, and even the 
most excruciating torments, rather than betray the sacred cause 
in which they had embarked ; and one of them had the boldness, 
when brought before the Roman governor as a prisoner, to ar- 
raign the very vices for which he was notorious, and to make the 
profligate judge tremble in bis presence.* So far from these virtues 
being mean or unmanly, they We the principal qualities that are 
justly entitled to the epithet heroic ; for they are the most difficult to 
be acquired and sustained, as they run counter to the general cur- 
rent of human passion and feeling, and to all the* corrupt propen- 
sities of the nature of man. A man may have sufficient heroism to 
bombard a town, or to conquer an army, and yet be altogether un- 
able to regulate his temper, or subdue his boisterous passions. 
But " he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that 
ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." In the one case, we 
strive against the corrupt affections of our nature ; in the other 
(as in giving vent to implacability and revenge), we give loose 
reins to our malignant passions. In the one case, we struggle 
against the stream, in order to obtain safety and repose ; in the 
other, we allow ourselves to be hurried along with the current, 
regardless of the rocks against which we may be dashed, or the whirl- 
pools in which we may be ingulfed. In proportion, then, as the 



* Acts xxiv. 25, 



' 



23S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Christianity the true Source of present Happiness. 



Christian virtues prevail in any community, will quarrels and con- 
tentions, and every thing destructive of human enjoyment, be effec- 
tually prevented, and happiness diffused among all ranks of society. 

In short, Christianity, in its moral requisitions, enjoins every 
relative and reciprocal duty between parents and children, mas- 
ters and servants, husbands and wives, governors and subjects ; 
and not only enforces the practice of justice and equity in all such 
relations, but inspires the most sublime and extensive charity, — 
a boundless and disinterested effusion of tenderness for the 
whole species, which feels for their distress, and operates for their 
relief and improvement. It prescribes no self-denial, except 
with regard to sinful lusts and depraved passions ; no mortifica- 
tion, except of evil affections ; it gives full scope to every feeling 
that contributes to the real enjoyment of life, while it guards, by 
the most awful sanctions, every duty the observance of which is 
necessary for our present and future happiness. It extends our 
views beyond the limits of the present state, and shows us that 
the future happiness of man is connected with his present con- 
duct, and that every action of our lives should have a reference 
to that immortal existence to which we are destined. But it 
never insinuates, that earth and heaven are opposed to each other 
as to their duties and enjoyments, or that we must be miserable 
here, in order to be happy hereafter. For while it prescribes 
rules which have for their ultimate object our happiness in a future 
world, the observance of these rules is calculated to secure our 
highest enjoyment even in the present life ; and every one who 
has devoted himself to the practice of genuine Christianity has 
uniformly found, that " godliness is profitable unto all things, 
having the promise both of the life that now is, and of that which 
is to come." On the characteristics of the moral code of Chris- 
tianity, then, I should scarcely hesitate to rest almost the whole 
of the internal evidence of its divine original. For laws which 
have a tendency to unite in a bond of affectionate union the whole 
intelligent creation, — which, if practised, would undermine every 
species of moral evil, and promote peace and happiness over 
all the earth, and which are equally calculated to produce true en- 
joyment in this world, and to prepare us for the higher felicities 
of the world to come, — must have had their origin in the mind 
of that Almighty Being whose omniscient eye perceives all the 
effects of every principle of action, and all the relations which sub- 
sist throughout the moral universe. 

6. Christianity explains certain moral phenomena which would 
otherwise have been inexplicable, and affords strong consolation 
under the evils of life. It throws a light on the origin of evil, 



INFORMATION DERIVED FROM REVELATION. 239 



Evanescence of Mundane Afflictions. 



and the disorders both of the physical and moral world, by in- 
forming us that man has lost his original happiness and integrity, 
that the earth has been defiled by his sin and rebellion, and that 
it is no longer the beautiful and magnificent fabric which it ap- 
peared during the period of primeval innocence. On the same 
ground, it discovers the reason why death has been permitted to 
enter our terrestrial system, and the cause of all those afflictions 
and calamities to which mankind are subjected. It presents be- 
fore us principles sufficient to explain most of the apparent irre- 
gularities and mysterious operations which appear in the moral 
government of the Almighty, — why storms and tempests, earth- 
quakes and volcanoes, are permitted to produce their ravages, — 
why the wicked so frequently enjoy prosperity, while the virtuous 
groan under the pressure of adversity, — why tyranny is establish- 
ed and vice enthroned, while virtue is despised, and love to truth 
and righteousness sometimes exposes its votary to intolerable 
calamities. All such occurrences, under the government of God, 
are accounted for on these general principles, — that they fulfil his 
counsel, — that they are subservient to the accomplishment of 
some higher designs of which we are partly ignorant, — and that 
the justice and equity of his procedure will be fully displayed 
and vindicated in the future world, where " every man will be re- 
warded according to his works." And as Christianity explains 
the cause of the physical and moral evils which exist in our 
world, so it affords strong consolation to the minds of its vota- 
ries under the afflictions to which they are now exposed. For, 
what is death to that mind which considers immortality as the 
career of its existence ? What are the frowns of fortune to him 
who claims an eternal world as his inheritance ? What is the 
loss of friends to that heart which feels that it shall quickly rejoin 
thern in a more intimate and permanent intercourse than any of 
which the present life is susceptible ? What are the changes and 
revolutions of earthly things to a mind which uniformly antici- 
pates a state of unchangeable felicity ? As earth is but a point 
in the universe, and time but a moment in infinite duration, such 
are the hopes of the Christian in comparison of every sublunary 
misfortune. 

7. Revelation communicates to us a knowledge of facts and 
doctrines which we could not otherwise have acquired. It in- 
forms us, that the Deity existed alone innumerable ages before 
time began, — that the material universe was brought into existence 
at his command, and by the exertion of his Almighty power, — and 
that the earth, in its present form, had no existence at a period seven 
thousand years beyond the present. It informs us of the man- 



240 ON THE CENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Beneficial Effects of Christianity. 



ner in which this glohc was first peopled, of the primeval state of 
its first inhabitants, of their fall from the state of innocence and 
purity in which they were at first created, of the increase of wick- 
edness which followed the entrance of sin into the world, of the 
deluge which swept away its inhabitants, and of which the most 
evident traces are still visible on the surface and in the bowels of 
the earth, — and of the manner in w hich Noah and his family were 
preserved from this universal destruction, for the repeopling of the 
world. It informs us of the time, manner, and circumstances in 
which the various languages which now exist had their origin — a 
subject which completely puzzled all the ancient philosophers, 
which they could never explain, and on which no other history nor 
tradition could throw the least degree of light. It unfolds to us 
views of the state of society in the ages which succeeded the de- 
luge, of the countries into which mankind were dispersed, and of 
the empires which they founded. It records the history of Abra- 
ham, the legislation of Moses, the deliverance of the tribes of 
Israel from Egypt, their passage through the Red Sea, their jour- 
neyings through the deserts of Arabia, under the guidance of the 
pillar of cloud and of fire, and their conquest of the land of 
Canaan. It informs us of a succession of prophets that were 
raised up to announce the coming of Messiah, and to foretel the most 
remarkable events that w 7 ere to take place in the future ages of 
the world, — of the appearance of Jesus Christ, of the promulga- 
tion of his gospel, and the miraculous effects with which it was 
accompanied. All which events, as explained and illustrated in 
the Sacred History, form one grand series of dispensations, which 
is, in the highest degree, illustrative of the power, wisdom, good- 
ness, and rectitude of the Supreme Being, — and of which no other 
records can give us any certain information. 

8. The beneficial effects which Christianity has produced in the 
uorld constitute a most powerful evidence of its divinity. One 
striking effect it has produced is, the superior light it has thrown 
on the great objects of religion, and the knowledge it has commu- 
nicated respecting its moral requisitions. Wherever it has been 
received, it has completely banished the absurd systems of poly- 
theism and pagan idolatry, with all the cruel and obscene rites with 
which they were accompanied ; and, in their place, has substituted 
a system of doctrine and practice, not only pure and rational, but 
level to the comprehension of the lowest class of society. A 
mechanic or peasant, instructed in the leading principles of reve- 
lation, now entertains more just and consistent notions of God, of 
his perfections, his laws, and the plan of his universal providence, 
than the most renowned philosophers of ancient times ever ac- 



BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY. 241 

Inhumanity of Paganism. 



quired. Christianity has produced an influence even on the progress 
of the arts and of rational science ; for wherever it has been esta- 
blished, they have uniformly followed in its train ; and the latest 
discoveries in philosophy, so far from being repugnant to its doc- 
trines and facts, are in perfect consistency with all its revelations, 
and tend to illustrate many of its sublime annunciations. With 
regard to practice — it has introduced many virtues which were 
altogether unknown in the heathen world. Instead of sottish 
idolatry, lasciviousness, unnatural lusts, pride, ostentation, and 
ambition, it has introduced, among all who submit to its authority, 
rational piety, humility, moderation, self-denial, charity, meekness, 
patience under affronts and injuries, resignation to the will of God, 
brotherly kindness, and active beneficence. In the first ages of 
Christianity, such virtues were eminently conspicuous. " See," 
said the heathen, " how these Christians, love one another." 
Lactantius, one of the early apologists, was able to say, in the 
face of his antagonists, " Give me a man who is wrathful, mali- 
cious, revengeful, and, with a few words of God, I will make him 
calm as a lamb ; give me one that is a covetous, niggardly miser, 
and I will give you him again liberal, bountiful, and dealing out 
of his money by handfuls ; give me one that is fearful of pain and 
death, and immediately he shall despise racks and crosses, and 
the most dreadful punishments you can invent." 

Its influence on communities and nations is no less evident, in 
the changes it has introduced in the circumstances of domestic 
life, and the barbarous practices it has completely abolished. 
When it made its way through the Roman empire, it abolished 
the unnatural practice of polygamy and concubinage, reduced the 
number of divorces, and mitigated the rigour of servitude, which, 
among the Romans, was cruel and severe — masters being often 
so inhuman as to remove aged, sick, or infirm slaves into an 

' island in the Tiber, where they suffered them to perish without 
pity or assistance. Polished and polite as the Romans have been 
generally considered, they indulged in the most barbarous enter- 
tainments. They delighted to behold men combating with wild 

. beasts and with one another ; and we are informed by respectable 
historians, that the fights of gladiators sometimes deprived Europe 
of twenty thousand lives in one month. Neither the humanity of 
Titus, nor the wisdom and virtue of Trajan, could abolish these 
barbarous spectacles, till the gentle and humane spirit of the 

, gospel put a final period to such savage practices, and they can 

I never again be resumed in any nation where its light is diffused, 
and its authority acknowledged. It humanized the barbarous 
hordes that overturned the Roman empire, and softened their 
21 



212 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



South Sea Islanders. 



ferocious tempers, as soon as they embraced its principles and 
yielded to its influence. It civilized, and raised from moral and 
intellectual degradation, the wild Irish, and our forefathers the 
ancient Britons, who were classed among the rudest of barba- 
rians till the time when they were converted to the religion of 
Jesus ; so that the knowledge we now see diffused around us, 
the civilization to which we have advanced, the moral order which 
prevails, the beauties which adorn our cultivated fields, the com- 
forts and decorations connected with our cities and towns, and 
the recent improved state of the arts and sciences, may all be 
considered as so many of the beneficial effects which the Christian 
religion has produced among us. 

In our own times, we have beheld effects no less powerful and 
astonishing, in the moral revolution which Christianity has lately 
produced in Tahiti, and the adjacent islands in the Southern 
ocean. In this instance, we behold a people who, a few years 
ago, were among the most degraded of the human race — who 
were under the influence of the most cruel superstitions and 
idolatries — who adored the most despicable idols — who sacrificed 
on their altars multitudes of human victims, and were plunged 
into all the vices and debaucheries and vile abominations which 
can debase the character of man — we behold them now trans- 
formed into civilized and Christian societies — their minds enlight- 
ened in the knowledge of the true God, their tempers moulded 
into the spirit of the religion of Jesus, — their savage practices 
abolished, — industry, peace, and moral order spreading their 
benign influence on all around, and multitudes rejoicing in the 
prospect of a blessed immortality. Where barrenness and deso- 
lation formerly prevailed, and where only a few savage huts 
appeared, open to the wind and rain, beautiful villages are now 
arising, furnished with all the comforts and accommodations of 
civilized life. Where pagan altars lately stood, and human victims 
were cruelly butchered, spacious temples are now erected for the 
worship of " the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," and 
seminaries for the literary and religious instruction of the young. 
Where sanguinary battles were fought, amid the furious yells of 
savage combatants, who cruelly massacred every prisoner of war, 
the voice of rejoicing and of thanksgiving is now heard ascending 
to Heaven from the peaceable " dwellings of the righteous," — 
all which effects have been produced, within less than twenty 
years, by the powerful and benign agency of the gospel of peace.* 



* For a particular account of this moral revolution which has recently taken 
plaee in the Society and other islands of the Pacific, the reader is referred to 
" Ellis's Polynesian Researches," 4 vols. 12mo. 



BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY. 243 

Extracts from Montesquieu. 

Even war itself — the most disgraceful and diabolical practice 
in which mankind have indulged, and which will affix an eternal 
stigma on the human character — -even war has assumed some- 
thing of the spirit of mildness and humanity, compared with the 
savage ferocity with which it was conducted during the reign of 
heathenism. Prisoners are no longer massacred in cold blood ; 
the conquered are spared, and their liberty frequently restored ; 
and, were the principles of Christianity recognised, and univer- 
sally acted upon by professing Christian nations, the spirit of 
warfare would soon be wholly terminated, and peace would extend 
its benign influence over all the kingdoms and families of the 
earth. The celebrated Montesquieu, in his " Spirit of Laws," 
has observed, " The mildness so frequently recommended in the 
gospel is incompatible with the despotic rage with which an arbi- 
trary tyrant punishes his subjects and exercises himself in cruelty. 
It is the Christian religion which, in spite of the extent of empire 
and the influence of climate, has rendered despotism from being 
established in Ethiopia, and has carried into Africa the manners 
of Europe. The heir to the throne of Ethiopia enjoys a princi- 
pality, and gives to other subjects an example of love and obedi- 
ence. Not far from hence may be seen the Mohammedan shutting 
up the children of the king of Senaar, at whose death the council 
sends to murder them in favour of the prince who ascends the 
throne." — " Let us set before our eyes, on the one hand, the 
continual massacres of the kings and generals of the Greeks and 
Romans, and on the other the destruction of people and cities 
by the famous conquerors Timur Beg and Jenghis Khan, who 
ravaged Asia, and we shall perceive, that we owe to Christianity 
in government a certain political law, and in war a certain law 
of nations, which allows to the conquered the great advantages 
of liberty, laws, wealth, and always religion, when the conqueror 
is not blind to his own interest." 

But Christianity has not only abolished many barbarous prac- 
tices ; it has likewise given birth to numerous benevolent institu- 
tions and establishments altogether unknown in pagan countries. 
Let us consider the numerous schools for the instruction of youth 
in useful knowledge and in the principles of religion, which are 
erected in all towns and villages in Christian countries, the nume- 

1 rous churches and chapels devoted to the worship of God, and to 
the instruction and comfort of individuals of every condition, age, 

s and sex, — the colleges and academies which have been founded 
for imparting knowledge in literature, and in arts and sciences, — 
the numerous philanthropic societies which have been formed for 
the relief of the aged, the infirm, and the destitute sick, — the edu- 



244 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 






Christianity of Universal Adaptation. 



cation o( the deaf and dumb, — the reformation of the criminal 
code, — the improvement of prison discipline, — the reformation of 
juvenile offenders, — the aiding of the friendless, the orphan, and 
the widow, — the literary and moral instruction of the children of 
the poor, — the relief of destitute imprisoned dehtors, — the im- 
provement of the destitute condition of the labouring classes, — 
the promotion of permanent and universal peace, — the diffusion 
of the knowledge of the Christian religion throughout every region 
of the globe, and for various other benevolent purposes, all cal- 
culated to alleviate the distresses of suffering humanity, to extend 
the blessings of knowledge, and to communicate enjoyment to all 
ranks of mankind ; and we may challenge the enemies of our re- 
ligion to point out similar institutions in any pagan country under 
heaven that has never felt the influence of Christianity. And if 
such beneficent effects are the native result of the benevolent and 
expansive spirit of Christianity, they form a strong presumptive 
evidence, independently of any other consideration, that it derived 
its origin from that Almighty Being who is good to all, and whose 
" tender mercies are over all his works." 

In fine, Christianity is adapted to every country and every 
clime. Its doctrines and precepts are equally calculated to pro- 
mote the happiness of princes and subjects, statesmen and phi- 
losophers, the high and the low, the rich and the poor. It is com- 
pletely adapted to the nature and necessities of man ; its rites are 
few and simple, and may be observed in every region of the globe. 
It forbids the use of nothing but what is injurious to health of body 
or peace of mind, and it has a tendency to promote a friendly and 
affectionate intercourse among men of all nations. And, as it is 
calculated for being universally extended, so its prophets have 
foretold that its blessings shall ultimately be enjoyed by all nations. 
In the period in which we live, we behold such predictions more 
rapidly accomplishing than in former times, in consequence of the 
spirit of missionary enterprise which now pervades the religious 
world. And when it shall have extended a little farther in its 
progress, and shall have brought a few more kingdoms and islands 
under its authority, its beneficent effects will be more clearly dis- 
cerned, and the evidences of its celestial origin will appear with a 
force and power which its most determined adversaries will not 
be able to gainsay or resist. 

In proportion as the physical sciences advance, and the sys- 
tem of nature is explored, will the harmony between the opera- 
tions of the Creator in the material world and the revelations of 
his word become more strikingly apparent. Ever since philo- 
sophy began to throw aside its hypothetical assumptions and! 






CHARACTERISTICS OF CHRISTIANITY. 245 



Summary of its Evidences. 



theoretical reasonings, and to investigate nature on the broad 
basis of induction, its discoveries have been found completely 
accordant with the Scriptures of truth, and illustrative of many of 
the sublime sentiments they contain. Geology, when in its 
infancy, was eagerly brought forward by a few skeptical and 
superficial minds, to subserve the cause of infidelity. A few 
pretended facts, of an insulated nature, were triumphantly exhi- 
bited, as insuperable objections to the truth of the Mosaic history 
and chronology. But later and more accurate researches have 
completely disproved the allegations of such skeptical philoso- 
phers, and were they now alive, they would feel ashamed of their 
ignorance, and of the fallacious statements by which they 
attempted to impose on the credulity of mankind. As geology 
advances in its investigations, along with its kindred sciences, the 
facts which it is daily disclosing appear more and more corrobo- 
. rative of the description given in the Bible of the original forma- 
, tion and arrangement of our globe, and of the universal deluge. 
: And, therefore, we have every reason to conclude, that when sci- 
ence and art shall have arrived at a still higher point of perfection, 
and our terrestrial system shall have been more thoroughly 
I explored throughout all its departments, arguments will be derived 
I from philosophy itself in support of the divinity of our religion, 
which will carry irresistible conviction to every mind. 

Such is a very brief summary of the internal evidences of the 
Christian religion. It is distinguished by the dignity and subli- 
mity of the style and sentiments of the writings which contain its 
1 revelations, — it exhibits the most rational and consistent views 
: of the attributes of the Divine Being, — it gives us full assurance 
of a future state of immortality, — it points out the way by which 
I pardon of sin and deliverance from moral evil may be obtained, — 
i it exhibits the purest and most comprehensive system of moral- 
iity, — it explains certain moral phenomena which would otherwise 
have been inexplicable, — it affords strong consolation under the 
.evils of life, — it communicates the knowledge of interesting facts 
and doctrines which can be found in no other record, — it has pro- 
duced the most beneficial effects on the state of society wherever 
it has been received, — it is completely adapted to the necessities 
of man, and calculated for being universally extended over the 
world : to which we might have added, that it is consistent in all 
its parts, when viewed through the medium of enlightened criti- 
cism, and harmonizes with the principles of sound reason, and 
{the dictates of an enlightened conscience. These are charac- 
teristics which will apply to no other system of religion that was 
ever proposed to the world ; and if Christianity, accompanied 
21* 



246 OX THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 
Difference between Sectarianism and Christianity. 



with such evidences, is not divine in its original, we may boldly 
affirm that there is no other religion known among men that can 
lay claim to this high prerogative. But we do not think it possi- 
ble that the mind of man can receive a more convincing demon- 
st rat ion of the truth of Christianity than is set before us in the 
authentic facts on which it rests, in its tendency to produce uni- 
versal happiness, and in the intrinsic excellence for which it is 
distinguished. That man, therefore, by whatever appellation he 
may be distinguished, who sets himself in opposition to the spirit 
of this religion, and endeavours to counteract its progress, must 
be considered as not only destitute of true taste and moral excel- 
lence, but as an enemy to the happiness of his species. If the 
religion of the Bible is discarded, we are left completely in the 
dark with regard to every thing that is most interesting to man as 
an intellectual being, and as a moral and accountable agent. We 
should, in this case, have the most imperfect conceptions of the 
attributes of Deity, and should know nothing of his designs in 
giving us existence and placing us in this part of his empire, — 
we should remain in ignorance whether the world had a begin- 
ning or had existed from eternity, or whether we shall ever have 
an opportunity of beholding the grand system of the universe a 
little more unfolded, — we should be destitute of any fixed moral 
laws to direct us in our social transactions and intercourses, — we 
should be entirely ignorant of the principles and objects of the 
moral government of the Almighty, — we should be destitute of 
any consolation under the afflictions and calamities of life, — we 
should hang continually in doubt whether death is to put a final 
termination to our being, or convey us to another and an eternal 
state of existence ; and, at length, we should be plunged into the 
if of universal skepticism, into which every rejecter of revela- 
tion ultimately sinks. 

It may not be improper to remark, that the religion to whose 
cL tics I have now adverted is not to be considered as 

precisely that form of Christianity which has been established in 
Italy, in ( .Vnnany, in Russia, or in Britain ; or as it is professed by 
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Independents, or any other sectary ; 
or expounded in the catechisms, confessions, or systems 

of divinity, which have been published by the different denomi- 
nations of the Christian world. In all these cases, its true glory 
has been obscured, its beauty defaced, and its purity contaminated, 
by passing through the atmosphere of human folly and corruption ; 
and opinions and practices have been incorporated with its leading 
principles altogether repugnant to the liberal and expansive spirit 
for which it is distinguished. It is the Christianity of the Bible 






EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY INCREASING. 247 



Nature of the Evidences. 



alone to which I refer. It is there alone that it is to be seen in 
its native purity, simplicity, and glory ; and he who neglects to 
study the Scriptures, unfettered by the trammels of human sys- 
tems, will never be able fully to perceive or to appreciate the 
true excellence of that religion, which is " pure and peaceable, 
full of mercy and good fruits," and which breathes " good-will 
towards men." For in some of the forms which Christianity 
has assumed in certain countries, it has been so much blended 
with human inventions as to be scarcely distinguishable from hea- 
thenism ; and consequently, in such cases, it has seldom been 
accompanied with those beneficial effects which it is calculated 
to produce. And, among almost all the sectaries in every 
countrv, either some of its distinguishing features have been 
overlooked, or its doctrines mixed up with metaphysical dogmas, 
or its practical bearings disregarded, or opinions respecting its 
forms and circumstantials set in competition with its fundamental 
truths and moral requisitions. " Nevertheless, the foundation 
of God standeth sure,"— -and the Divine fabric of Christianity 
will remain unshaken and unimpaired, so long as the Scriptures 
are preserved uncontaminated and entire. 

The evidences to which I have now adverted are continually 
increasing in their clearness and force. Time, which is gradually 
undermining the foundations of error, is enlarging the bulwarks 
of truth, and adding to their strength and stability. Opposition 
has tended only to clear away the rubbish which has been thrown 
around the Christian fabric, but it has shown its foundations to 
be firm and impregnable. The historical evidence has been 
gaining strength ever since the days of the apostles, and since 
the time when Herbert, Chubb, Tindal, Morgan, and other infidel 
writers attempted to undermine the cause of revealed religion. 
The defences which were published by Grotius, Stillingfleet, 
Butler, Leland, Watson, Paley, and others, have shown, that the 
more the arguments for Christianity have been opposed, sifted, 
and examined, the more irresistible have they appeared, and the 
more have they shone with increasing brightness ; so that no 
infidel has ever attempted to meet them on fair grounds. — The 
evidence from 'prophecy, from its very nature, is continually pro- 
gressive ; and, in proportion as Scripture predictions are studied 
with judgment and intelligence, and compared with the history of 
past ages and the present state of the nations, will a new light be 
thrown on the prophetical writings, which will cause the evidence 
of their divinity to shine forth with a brighter lustre, and enable 
every intelligent observer to read, in passing events and in the 
revolutions of empires, the faithfulness of the Almighty in ac- 



24S OX THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Intention of the preceding Summary. 



complishing those declarations which, " at sundry times and in 
divers manners, he spake to the lathers by the prophets." The 
internal evidence, which has been more overlooked than it ought 
to have been, is likewise increasing, and will continue to increase, 
in proportion as the Scriptures are perused with judgment and 
care, as nature is contemplated with humility and reverence, and 
as useful knowledge is diffused over the world. When the holy 
principles of our religion shall have acquired a greater influence 
over the tempers and conduct of its professors ; when the de- 
liberations of statesmen and the conduct of states and empires 
shall be directed by its maxims and laws ; when Christianity 
shall be divested of the false drapety with which its pretended 
friends have attempted to adorn it, and freed from the corruptions 
which human folly has incorporated with its institutions ; when 
all who recognise its leading doctrines, throwing aside party dis- 
putes and animosities, shall form themselves into one grand and 
harmonious association ; when a few more portions of the hea- 
then world shall have been brought into subjection to the Prince 
of Peace, and when the general happiness resulting from such 
events shall be felt and acknowledged, — then all who behold 
such blessed transformations will be enabled to read, in charac- 
ters that cannot be mistaken, that the Creator of the Universe is 
the original Author of Christianity, and that the promotion of the 
best interests of mankind is the great end of all its revelations. 



My intention in giving the preceding summary of the evidences 
of Christianity is to show, that, without habits of rational thinking 
and a certain portion of general information, these evidences can- 
not be thoroughly investigated, nor their weight and importance duly 
appreciated. For, how can a mind unaccustomed to reading and 
i be supposed capable of entering into all the topics and 
■i derations requisite to be attended to in such investigations — 
of balancing arguments, — of comparing prophecies with their ac- 
complishment in the history of nations, — of detecting sophisms — 
or of feeling the force of reasonings, however clear or powerful? 
it is those fundamental principles and general ideas on 

which all moral ratiocinations are grounded. On such a mind, the 
most w< ighty arguments and the most cogent reasonings make no 
.It may be susceptible of being biassed against 
religion by the ;ad sarcasms of jovial companions, and the 

ridicule with which they may treat the truths of revelation ; but it 
is unqualified either to rebut such impertinences, or to appreciate 



KNOWLEDGE OP REVELATION. 249 

Remarks on Prophecy. 



the excellences of Christianity, the foundation on which it rests, 
and the benignant tendency of its doctrines and precepts. And 
if, in the present day, a man has no acquaintance with the grounds 
and reasons of revealed religion, and the evidences on which its 
truth and divinity rest, he will not only be indifferent to the obser- 
vance of its precepts, and destitute of its supports and consola- 
tions, but will be constantly liable to be turned aside to the paths 
of folly and intemperance, and to become the prey of unthinking 
fools and scoffing infidels. Whereas, when a man can give a 
reason of the hope that is in him, his religion becomes a delightful 
and a rational service, and he is enabled to put to silence the scoffs 
and vain cavillings of foolish and unreasonable men. 

Besides assisting us in investigating the evidences of religion — 
a certain portion of general information is highly useful, and even 
necessary, for enabling us to understand the sacred ivritings. 
It is true, indeed, that the leading doctrines of revelation, respect- 
ing the attributes of God, the mediation of Christ, the way in 
which salvation is to be obtained, the grand principles of moral 
action, and the duties connected with the several relations of life, 
are detailed with such plainness and perspicuity as to be level to the 
comprehension of every reflecting mind, however unskilled in 
literature or science. But there are certain portions of Revela- 
tion, necessary " to make the man of God perfect," the study of 
which requires the exertion of all our faculties, and the application 
of every branch of human knowledge we can possibly acquire. 
This arises from the very nature of the subjects treated of, and 
from the limited faculties of the human mind. To illustrate this 
idea is the object of the following remarks. 

1. A considerable portion of Scripture is occupied with prophe- 
tical declarations, — in reference to events which have long since 
taken place, to those which are now happening, and to those which 
will hereafter happen in the future ages of the world. It contains 
a series of predictions which embrace the leading outlines of the 
history of the world, from its commencement to its final consum- 
mation. Now, in order to trace the accomplishment of these pre- 
dictions, and to perceive clearly the events to which they refer, a 
minute acquaintance with ancient and modern history is indispens- 
ably requisite ; for it is in history, either sacred or civil, that their 
accomplishment is recorded. And could we, with one compre- 
hensive glance, take a survey of all the leading events which the 
history of the world records, we should be enabled, when reading 
the prophetical writings, to perceive at every step the ideas and 
purposes of that All-comprehensive Mind that " knoweth the end 
from the beginning," and his faithfulness in accomplishing the 



250 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Allegory and Metaphor. 



promises, and executing the threatenings, of his word. A know- 

of chronology is also requisite, in order to ascertain the time 

in which predu tionswere uttered, and (he periods to which they 

— and of ancient geography, to determine the localities of 
those tribes or nations to which the prophecies have a reference, 
and their relative positions with regard to each other. Ln particu- 
lar, it is necessary to be acquainted with the figurative style in 
which prophecy is conveyed, in order to understand the writings 
ancient prophets. These writings, in common with those 
of most of the Eastern nations, are highly poetical, and abound 
in allegories, parables, and metaphors. The allegory is that mode 
of sp< vii in which the writer or speaker means to convey a differ- 
ent idea from what the words in their primary signification bear. 
Thus, " Break up your fallow-ground, and sow not among 
thorns," * is to be understood, not of tillage, but of repent- 
ance ; and these words, " Thy rowers have brought thee into 
great waters, the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the 
seas,"']' allude, not to the fate of a ship, but to the fate of a city. 
Of all the figures used by the prophets, the most frequent is the 
metaphor, by which words are transferred from their plain and 
primary to their figurative and secondary meaning. One of the 
most copious sources of those metaphors to which the sacred 
writers resort is the scenery of nature. The sun, moon, and stars, 
the highest and most splendid objects in the natural world, figura- 
tively represent kings, queens, and princes or rulers, the highest 
in the political world, as in the following passages, " The moon 
shall be confounded, and the sun ashained."J "I will cover the 
heavens, and make the stars thereof dark ; I will cover the sun 
with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. "§ Light and 
darkness are used figuratively for joy and sorrow, prosperity and 
adversity ; as, " We wait for light, but behold obscurity ; for 
brightness, but we walk in darkness ;"|| — and likewise for know- 

e and ignorance, — "The people that walked in darkness have 
a great light," &c. Immoderate rains, hails, floods, torrents, 
inundations, fire, and storms, denote judgments and destruction ; 
Lebanon, remarkable for its height and its stately cedars, is used 
majesty and strength ; Carmel, which abounded in 
vines and olives, as an image of fertility and beauty; and bul- 
lock -ban, rams, lions, eagles, and sea-monsters, as images 
of cruel and oppressive conquerors and tyrants. Metaphors are 
likewise borrowed from history, from the scenery of the temple 

* Jer. iv. ?,. j Ezek. xxvii. 26. J Isaiah xxiv. 23. 

§ Ezek. xxxii. 7. jj Isaiah lis. D. 



KNOWLEDGE OF SCRIPTURE HISTORY. 251 

Testimony of ancient Writers. 



and its various utensils and services, and from the ordinary customs 
and occupations of life — the meaning and application of which 
require to be distinctly understood, in order to perceive the spirit 
and references of ancient prophecy. Those who would wish to 
study this subject with intelligence, would do well to consult the 
works of Lowth, Hui'd, Sherlock, Kennicot, Newcome, and par- 
ticulary " Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies." 

2. In studying the historical parts of Scripture — a knowledge 
of ancient history, and even of pagan mythology, tends, in many 
instances, to throw light on the narratives of the sacred writers. 
We find, from heathen writers, who were strangers to the Jewish 
religion, that the most ancient tradition of all nations, respecting 
the early history of the world, is exactly agreeable to the relation 
of Moses, though expressed in a more abstruse, doubtful, and im- 
perfect manner. The description of the origin of the world in the 
ancient Phenician history, translated by Philo Biblius from San- 
choniathon's collection, and transmitted to us by Eusebius, is 
materially the same with that which is recorded in the book of 
Genesis, when separated from the fabulous notions with which it is 
blended. The Egyptians, according to Laertius, acknowledged, 
" that originally the world was a confused chaos, from whence 
the four elements were separated, and living creatures made ; and 
that the world had a beginning, and consequently would have an 
end." Hesiod, the most ancient writer w r hose works have reach- 
ed us, says, that " all things had their origin from a rude chaos ;" 
and Ovid, in the first book of his " Metamorphoses," tells us, " that 
before the seas, and the land, and the canopy of heaven existed, 
there was one appearance throughout the whole of nature, which 
they called chaos — a rude and indigested mass, in which earth 
and air, fire and water, were indiscriminately mixed." In short, 
Thales, Anaxagoras, Aratus, Virgil, and Homer, speak of the 
original of all things, conformable to the account given by Moses, 
though in a different phraseology ; and we learn from Josephus, 
PhilOjTibullus, Clemens Alexandrinus, and Lucian,that the memo- 
i ry of the six days' work was preserved, not only among the Greeks 
i and Italians, by honouring the seventh day, but also among the 
Celtae and Indians, who all measured their time by weeks. Ma- 
netho, who wrote the history of the Egyptians, Berosus, who 
wrote the Chaldean history, Hierom, who wrote the history of 
Phenicia, and Hecataeus, Hillanicus, and Ephorus, who wrote the 
! history of Greece, all agree in asserting, that those who descend- 
i ed from the first men, in the first ages of the world, lived many 
of them nearly a thousand years." With regard to the de- 
luge, we find most of the Greek and Roman writers, Ovid, Lu- 



552 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Modern Writers on Ancient History. 



cian, Berosus the Chaldean, Abydenus the Assyrian, and many 
others, referring to that great event, and detailing the particular 
circumstances connected with it, in language nearly similar to 
that of the Bacred historian; such as the preservation of Noah, 
the ark in which he was preserved, the mountain on which it rest- 
ed, the dove and the raven which he is said to have sent out, and 
the wickedness of the antediluvians, as the cause of that dismal 
catastrophe. We find, also, that the whole mythology of India is 
full of allusions to the general deluge, which appears to be the 
commencement of their present era ; and that accounts of the 
same event are to be met with in China and Japan.* 

An acquaintance with ancient history is necessary for enabling 
us to fill up the blanks left by the sacred historians. From the 
time of Ezra and Nehemiah to the birth of Christ, there is an in- 
terval of about four hundred and fifty years, of the events which 
happened during which we have no account in any part of the 
inspired writings. A knowledge of the events which happened 
during this interval is necessary, in order to complete our views 
of the scheme of Divine Providence, and to unfold to us the series 
of God's dispensations in relation both to the Jew r s and the sur- 
rounding nations. During this period, too, many of the predic- 
tions of Daniel and the other prophets received their accomplish- 
ment, — particularly those which relate to the Medes and Persians, 
the times of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy Philadelphus, Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes, Philip of Macedon, and the persecutions in the 
days of the Maccabees. In order, therefore, to obtain a clear 
and comprehensive view of the ways of Providence during this 
interval, such works as Shuckford's " Connexion of Sacred 
and Profane History," and Prideaux's " Connexions of the 
Old and New Testament," require to be studied with care ; in 
many parts of which will be seen a running commentary on 
Daniel's vision of the " Ram and He-goat," and of " the things 
noted in the Scripture of truth," which have a reference, among 
other things, to the kings of Persia, to Alexander and his succes- 
sors, and the warlike exp2ditions in which they were engaged. 
For an elucidation of the general train of events from the Mosaic 
creation to the establishment of Christianity, " Stackhouse's His- 
tory of the Bible," in six volumes Svo, or in three volumes 4to, 
with the additional notes and dissertations of Bishop Gleig, will 
be found an invaluable tredsure, and will amply repay the reader 
who gives it adiligenl perusal. f 

* See Maurice's "Indian Antiquities, 1 ' and Bryant's "System of My- 
thology." 

t In Bishop Gleig's edition of Stackhouse's history, a long and useful dis» 



XNOWLEDGE OF EASTERN CUSTOMS. 253 

Incongruities reconciled. 

3. A knowledge of the manners and customs, climate and sea- 
sons, arts and sciences of the Eastern nations, is essentially re- 
quisite, in many instances, in order to understand the allusions of 
the sacred writers, and the meaning of various portions of Scrip- 
ture. For example, when an untutored reader peruses the ac- 
count given in the Evangelists of the cure of the paralytic who 
was carried by four men on a bed, and who, finding it impossible 
to pass through the throng, ascended to the top of the house in 
which Jesus was, and let him down, bed and all, " through the 
tiling," into the very room where he was sitting — he is apt to en- 
tertain a very confused and erroneous idea of the circumstances 
of the case, when his attention is directed solely to the mode of 
building in this country. But when he is informed that the houses 
in the country of Judea were low-built and flat-roofed, and sur- 
rounded with a parapet breast-high, that there was a ladder or pair 
of stairs which led to the top of the house from the outside, and a 
trap-door or hatchway in the middle of the roof — he will soon ac- 
quire a clear idea of the circumstances stated in this and other 
parts of the evangelical history, and of the ease with which the 
paralytic man might be conveyed to the top of the building, and 
let down through the roof. The same facts likewise illustrate 
the circumstance of Peter's going to the top of the house to pray, 
and the custom of making proclamations from the house-tops, to 
which there are several allusions in Scripture. A knowledge of 
the weather and seasons of Judea is frequently of use to illustrate 
the force of certain expressions of the sacred writers. It may 
, seem to us nothing extraordinary that there should be " thunder 
and rain in harvest," or in the months of June and July, when 
Samuel said, " Is it not tvheat harvest to day? I will call unto 
the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain."* But Jerome, who 
lived in Judea many years, says, it never rained there at that sea- 
| son ; so that the thunder and rain which happened at the interces- 
i sion of Samuel were truly miraculous, and as such, " the people 
greatly feared the Lord and Samuel." Again, in Luke xii. 55, 
it is said, " When ye see the south wind blow, ye say there will be 
heat, and it cometh to pass." In our climate, where the south 

sertation, entitled "An Apparatus to the History of the Bible," has been left 
out without any reason being assigned for the omission. In other respects 
the original works appears to be complete. Bishop Gleig's improvements 
consist chiefly in bringing forward the discoveries of modern science for the 
purpose of elucidating certain scriptural facts, and repelling the objections of 
infidels — and in various dissertations on some of the leading doctrines and 
historical facts of revelation, which form valuable additions to the original 
work of Stackhouse. See also Home's Introduction, &c. 
* 1 Samuel xii. 17. 
22 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Ancient Geography, 



wind seldom blows, this may not be always the case. But in 
Syria, Egypt, Judea, and the adjacent countries, the effect here 
mentioned is striking and uniform. When the south wind begins 
to blow, the sky becomes dark and heavy, the air gray and thick, 
and the whole atmosphere assumes a most alarming aspect. 
The heat produced by these southern winds has been compared 
to that of a huge oven at the moment of drawing out the bread, 
and to that of a flame blown upon the face of a person standing 
near the fire that excites it. 

Thousands of illustrations of Sacred Scripture may be derived 
from such sources ; and he who is unacquainted with them must 
remain a stranger to the beauties of the style of the inspired 
writers, and to the precise meaning of many portions both of the 
historical and the prophetical writings. The manners and cus- 
toms of the Eastern nations have remained nearly the same for 
several thousand years ; so that those which are found existing 
in the present day are exactly or nearly the same, as those which 
prevailed in the times when the books of the Old and New Tes- 
taments were written. Modern oriental travellers, in their de- 
scriptions of the arts, sciences, and manners of the East, have fur- 
nished us with a mass of invaluable materials for the elucidation 
of holy writ, and they have proved, in many cases, unintention- 
ally, better commentators than the most profound critics and philo- 
logists. Many of their insulated remarks of this kind have lately 
been classified and arranged by various writers, particularly by 
Harmer, in his " Observations," Burder in his " Oriental Cus- 
toms," Paxton in his " Illustrations," and Taylor, the late learned 
editor of the new editions of Calmet's Dictionary, in his Frag- 
ment a, appended to that work, which contains an immense num- 
ber of such observations, illustrated with a great variety of engrav- 
ings. 

4. An acquaintance with Ancient Geography, especially that part 
of it which relates to the eastern countries, would enable a person 
to peruse many portions of Scripture with much greater interest 
and intelligence, than if he were altogether ignorant of this branch 
of knowledge. In the history of the Old Testament, and in the 
prophetical writings, there are frequent references and allusions 
to Mesopotamia, Idumea, Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Arabia-, 
Ethiopia, Lybia, Parthia, Scythia, Persia, and other countries — 
to the cities of Jerusalem, Babylon, Nineveh, Damascus, Tad- 
mor, Tyre, Sidon, &c. — to the Great Sea, or the Mediterranean, 
the Dead Ski, the Sea of Tiberias, the Red Sea — the isles of 
Chittim, Cyprus, Crete, Melita — the rivers Jordan, Kishon, Jab- 
bok, Euphrates, Iliddekel, Pison, Ulai, Abana, Pharpar, &c. — 



ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY NATURAL HISTORY. 255 



Illustrations of Scripture. 



Now, a knowledge of the positions of such places with respect 
to the country of Judea, their relative situations with regard to 
each other, and of the outlines of their history, and of the warlike 
achievements and commerce of their inhabitants — is frequently 
necessary, in order to attain a clear and comprehensive view of 
the passages in which there are allusions to such localities. — In 
reading the Evangelists, it is highly expedient to know, for ex- 
ample, the position of Samaria, Galilee, the lake of Gennesareth, 
and the river Jordan, with respect to that portion of the Holy 
Land denominated Judea — the situations of Bethlehem, Naza- 
reth, Jericho, Nain, Sychar, Bethsaida, Cana, Tyre, and Sidon, 
with respect to Jerusalem, and their respective distances from that 
metropolis — and the characteristics of the inhabitants of these 
places ; for, upon a knowledge of such circumstances, our per- 
ception of the beauty and appropriateness of our Saviour's dis- 
! courses, and of the propriety of his actions, will, in a great mea- 
sure, depend. — In reading the history of the journeyings of the 
I apostles, it is no less expedient that we have lying before us maps 
of Asia Minor, of Ancient Greece, of Palestine, of the Eastern 
parts of Africa, and of the islands of the Mediterranean, and that 
we have some acquaintance with the history and character of the 
tribes which inhabited these countries in the days of the apostles. 
Without such knowledge and assistances, we must, in many in- 
stances, read their narratives without ideas — and shall be unable 
to appreciate their labours, the long journeys they undertook, the 
■ fatigues they endured, the dangers to which they were exposed 
' by sea and land, and the allusions made to such circumstances 
in the apostolic epistles.* 

5. An acquaintance with the facts of Natural History and 

Science, and with the general phenomena of Nature, would tend to 

throw a light on many passages of Scripture, and would enable per- 

; sons to perceive a beauty and an emphasis in certain expressions, 

which they would otherwise be apt to overlook. For example, 

; in the beginning of the hundred and thirty-fifth psalm, the servants 

! of God are exhorted to " praise the name of Jehovah ;" and in the 

i sequel of the psalm various reasons are assigned why we should en- 

\ gage in this exercise. One of these reasons is, that "He caaseth the 

' vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth" Many persons 

who read or who may sing this portion of sacred poetry, would be 

I* The student of ancient sreography will be assisted in his researches by a 
perusal of Wells' "Set of Maps of Ancient Geography," twenty-three in 
1 number — and Wells' " Sacred Geography," modernized by the Editor of 
Calmct's Dictionary, which is one of the most accurate and complete works 
of the kind. 

1 



256 05 THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Evaporation— Rivers. 



apt to overlook the circumstance now stated as an argument of very 
inferior importance. But if we examine the subject attentively, 
we shall find, that this physical operation of the Almighty is not 
only very wonderful in its nature, but that upon it most of our 
comforts, and even our very existence, depend. Evaporation is a 
process by which water and other liquids are converted into va- 
pour. The matter of heat, combining with water, renders it spe- 
cifically lighter, by which means it rises and mixes with the 
atmosphere, where it nana ins either invisible, or assumes the ap- 
pearance of clouds. In this state it occupies a space fourteen 
hundred times greater than in its ordinary liquid state, and con- 
sequently is much lighter than the atmospheric air into which it 
rises. It has been calculated, that, from an acre of ground, 
during twelve hours of a summer's day, more than 1600 gallons 
of w r ater have been drawn up into the air in the form of vapour. 
From the whole surface of the ocean there arise, every twelve 
hours, no less than 30,320,500,000,000, or more than thirty mil- 
lions of millions of cubic feet of water, which is more than suffi- 
cient to supply all the rivers that intersect the four quarters of the 
globe. This immense body of vapour is formed into clouds, 
w r hich are carried by the winds over every part of the continents ; 
and, by a process with which we are still unacquainted, is again 
condensed into rain, snow, or dews, which water and fertilize the 
earth. Now, if this wonderful and extensive process of nature 
were to cease — we might wash our clothes, but centuries would 
not dry them, for it is evaporation alone that produces this effect 
— there would be no rains nor dews to fertilize our fields, and the 
consequence would be, the earth would be parched, and the vege- 
table productions which afford us subsistence would wither and 
decay, — the rivers would swell the ocean, and cause it to over- 
flow a portion of the land, while, at the same time, their sources 
would soon be completely exhausted, and their channels dried up. 
In such a state of things, the whole system of terrestrial nature 
would be deranged, and man, and all the other tribes of animated 
nature — deprived of those comforts which are essential to their 
existence — would, in a short time, perish from the earth. So 
that it forma a powerful and impressive motive to excite us to 
praise the came of Jehovah, when we call to remembrance, that 
it is lie " who causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of 
the earth, " and thus preserves the harmony of nature, and secures 
to all living creatures the blessings they now enjoy. 

Again, we arc informed by Solomon (Eccles. i. 7), that " all 

the rivers run into the sen ; yet the sea is not full ; unto the place 

whence the rivers come, thither they return again." It ap- 



SCIENCE ILLUSTRATIVE OF SCRIPTURE. 257 

Rivers — The Ocean. 



pears, at first sight, somewhat unaccountable, that the ocean has 
not long ere now overflown all its banks, when we consider that 
so many majestic streams are incessantly rolling into its abyss, 
carrying along with them into its caverns no less than thirteen 
thousand six hundred cubical miles of water every year. Solo- 
mon partly solves the difficulty, by informing us, that " to the 
place whence the rivers come, thither they return again." But 
how do they return ] Many expositors of Scripture attempt to 
1 explain this circumstance, by telling us that the waters of the 
q ocean percolate through the earth, and in some way or another 
arrive near the tops of mountains, where springs generally 
. abound. But such a supposition is not only highly improbable, 
when we consider the vast mass of earth and rocks, several 
. hundreds of miles in thickness, through which the waters would 
, have to percolate, but directly contrary to the known laws of 
j nature ; for no fluid can rise in a tube above the level of its source, 
< which in this case it behooved to do. Modern experiments and 
\ discoveries, however, have satisfactorily accounted for this fact, 
on the principle of evaporation, to which I have just now adverted. 
From the surface of the ocean and of the rivers themselves, there 
] is carried up into the atmosphere, in the form of vapour, nearly 
■ three times the quantity of water sufficient to replenish the sources 
of all the rivers in the world. The vapour thus raised is carried 
- by the winds, in the form of clouds, over every region of the 
globe, and falls down in rains to carry on the various processes 
of nature. One part falls into the sea, another on the lowlands, 
J and the remaining part is sufficient to replenish the sources of all 
] the rivers. So that the assertion of Solomon is strictly and phi- 
^ losophically correct, that " to the place whence the rivers come, 
"thither they return again." They first fall into the ocean; a 
j portion of their waters is then raised by evaporation into the 
1 atmosphere ; this portion of vapour, after traversing the regions 
of the air, falls down in rain, mists, and dews, and supplies the 

I numerous springs " which run among the hills." 
Such illustrations, which might be indefinitely extended, not 
I only throw a light on the meaning of the sacred writers, but tend 
'likewise to show the harmony that subsists between the dis- 
coveries of science and the truths of revelation, As the author 
I of Christianity and the author of the system of nature is one and 
the same Being, there must exist a harmonious correspondence 
; between truth in the one, and fact in the other ; and the more 
they are studied with intelligence, and in connexion with each 
other, the more will their harmony be apparent. 

It is a circumstance that has frequently forced itself upon my 
22* 



25S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Adequateoess of Scriptural Expressions. 



attention, that whatever scene of nature we contemplate, and 
however brilliant and unexpected the discoveries which modem 
science has brought to light, — however far they have carried our 
views into the wonders of the minute parts of creation, and 
into the immeasurable regions of space, where myriads of suns 
are lighted up, — and however much the mind may be lost in 
astonishment and wonder, at the magnificent scenes which they 
disclose, — we shall find sentiments and expressions in Scripture 
adequate to express every emotion of the soul when engaged in 
such contemplations. — Are we contemplating the expanse of the 
ocean, and the vast mass of waters which fill its mighty caverns ? 
and do we wish to raise our thoughts in adoration of the power 
of that Almighty Being who formed it by his word ? We are 
presented by the inspired penmen with expressions in which to 
vent our emotions. " He holds its waters in the hollow of his 
hand ; he taketh up its isles as a very little thing." — " He 
gathereth the waters of the sea together as a mass ; he layeth up 
the depths as in storehouses." — " He divideth the sea by his 
power ; he hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day 
and night come to an end." — " Thou coveredst the earth with 
the deep as with a garment ; the waters stood above the moun- 
tains :* At thy rebuke they fled ; at the voice of thy thunder they 
hasted away. Thou hast set a boundary that they may not pass 
over, that they turn not again to cover the earth." — " He hath 
placed the sand for the bounds of the sea, by a perpetual decree, 
that it cannot pass it ; and though the waves thereof toss them- 
selves, yet can they not prevail ; though they roar, yet can they 
not pass over it." He hath said to its rolling billows, " Hitherto 
shalt thou come, and no farther ; and here shall thy proud waves 
-1." — Are we spectators of storms and tempests, espe- 
cially in the terrific grandeur they display in southern climes? 
Our emotions will be expressed with the greatest emphasis in the 
juration, in which we are uniformly directed to 
gency of God in such phenomena. " Clouds and 
darkness are round about him: He hath his way in the whirl- 
wind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." 
— " When he uttereth his voice, there is a sound of waters in 
the heavens ; he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of 
earth ; b th lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the 

winds out of his treasuries." — " The God of glory thundereth; 
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty ; the voice of the Lord 
divideth the flames of fire ; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of 



Preferring to the deluge. 



HARMONY OF SCIENCE AND REVELATION. 259 

Structure of the Human Body. 



Lebanon." — " Who can stand before his indignation? The 
mountains quake before him, the hills melt, and rocks are shivered 
at his presence." 

Again, when we contemplate the immense number and variety 
of animated beings which glide through the waters, move along 
the earth, and wing their flight through the air ; together with the 
ample provision which is made for their accommodation and sub- 
sistence, — where can we find language more appropriate to 
express our feelings than in these words of the Psalmist ? " How 
manifold are thy works, Lord ! In wisdom hast thou made 
them all ; the earth is full of thy riches ; so is the great and 
wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small 
and great beasts. These all wait upon thee, that thou mayest 
give them their meat in due season. Thou givest them — they 
gather ; thou openest thine hand — they are filled with good." — 
TVhen we survey the structure of the human frame, and consider 
the vast number of bones, muscles, veins, arteries, lacteals, lym- 
phatics, and other parts, all curiously combined, and calculated 
to facilitate every motion of our bodies, and to produce sensitive 
enjoyment, — along with the organs of sense, the process of respi- 
ration, and the circulation of the blood through the whole frame 
every four minutes, — can w T e refrain from adopting the expressive 
language of the Psalmist ? " I will praise thee, for I am fearfully 
and wonderfully made! marvellous are thy works. My sub- 
stance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, and 
curiously wrought," — or variegated like needlework, — "in my 
mother's womb.* Thine eyes did see my substance when it was 

* In our translation, the beauty and emphasis of this passage are partly 
lost. The expression, "curiously wrought," literally translated, signifies 
" flowered with a needle." The process of the formation of the human body 
in the womb is compared to that in a piece of delicate work wrought with a 
fine needle, or fashioned with peculiar art in the loom ; which, with all its 
beautiful proportion of figure and variety of colouring, rises by degrees to per- 
fection under the hand of the artist, from a rude mass of silk or other mate- 
rials, and according to a pattern lying before him. In accordance with this 
idea, the Divine Being is here represented as working a shapeless mass, after 
a plan delineated in his book, into the most curious texture of muscles, bones, 
Teins, ligaments, membranes, lymphatics, &c. most skilfully interwoven and 
connected with each other, till it becomes a structure with all the parts, 
lineaments, and functions of a man, — no one of which is to be seen at first, 
any more than the figures in a ball of silk, before it is fashioned with the 
needle. The wonders of this workmanship are farther enhanced from the 
consideration, that, while human artificers require the clearest light for 
! accomplishing their work, the Divine Artist performs it " in secret," within 
i the dark and narrow recess of the womb. The expression, "How precious are 
thy thoughts to me," should be rendered, "How precious are thy contrivances 
respecting me," namely, in reference to the exquisite structure and organization 
of the corporeal frame, on which the Psalmist had fixed his meditations- 



2G0 ON THE G .h DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Structure of the Heavens. 



\( i imperfect ; and in thy book all my members were written, 
which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none 
of them. How precious are thy thoughts (or, thy wonderful 
contrivances) concerning me, God! How great is the sum 
of them ! If I should count them, they are more in number than 
the Band." To which may be added the words of Job, "Thine 
hands have made and fashioned me ; thou hast clothed me with 
skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews ; and 
thy visitation preserveth my spirit." — When we contemplate the 
minute wonders of creation, and are struck with astonishment at 
the inconceivable smallness of certain animated beings, — how 
can we more appropriately express our feelings than in the lan- 
guage of Scripture, " He is wonderful in counsel, and excellent 
in working ; his wisdom is unsearchable, his understanding is 
infinite ; marvellous things doth he which we cannot compre- 
hend. There is none like unto thee, Lord, neither are there 
any works like unto thy works. Thou art great, and dost won- 
drous things ; thou art God alone." 

When we contemplate the amazing structure of the heavens — 
the magnitude of the bodies which compose the planetary system, 
and the numerous orbs which adorn the nocturnal sky— when we 
penetrate with the telescope into the more distant regions of space, 
and behold ten thousand times ten thousand more of these bright 
luminaries rising to view from every region of the firmament — 
when we consider that each of these twinkling luminaries is a 
sun, equal or superior to our own in size and in splendour, and 
rounded with a system of revolving worlds — when we reflect, 
that all this vast assemblage of suns and worlds forms, in all 
I , but a very small portion of Jehovah's empire, and 
when our minds are bewildered and astonished at the incompre- 
:audeur of the scene — where shall we find language to 
ir emotions more energetic and appropriate than in such 
these? "Canst thou by searching find out God? 
thou find out the Almighty to perfection ? He is glorious 
in | understanding is infinite, his greatness is unsearch- 

. The h< declare the glory of Jehovah, and the firma- 

ment showeth his handy-work. All nations before him are as j 
d they are counted to him as less than nothing and j 
out the heavens with a span, and compre- \ 
hendeth the dust of the earth in a measure. Behold ! the hea- 
ftnd the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. By the word 
of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by 
the spirit of his mouth. He spake and it was done; he com- 
manded, and it stood fast. He doth great things past finding out, 



HARMONY OF SCIENCE AND REVELATION. 261 

: Plurality of Worlds. 

*■ • - ...... 

and wonders without number. Great and marvellous are thy 
works, Lord God Almighty ! Touching the Almighty we cannot 
find him out ; he is excellent in power, and his glory is above the 
earth and the heavens. Who can utter the mighty operations of 
Jehovah? Who can show forth all his praise?" 

Are we led, from the discoveries of modern astronomy, to infer, 
that numerous worlds besides our own exist throughout the uni- 
verse ? This idea will be found imbodied in numerous passages 
of Scripture, such as the following : — " Through faith we under- 
stand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." — "In 
these last days he hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath 
, appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." 
— " Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their 
host, and thou preservest them all, and the host of heaven wor- 
shipped thee." — "He sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the 
inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers. All the inhabitants of 
the earth are reputed as nothing in his sight The nations are as 
the drop of a bucket ; and he doth according to his will in the 
armies of hear en, and among the inhabitants of the earth." — " He 
hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth 
over all." — " When I consider thy heavens — what is man, that 
thou art mindful of him V* It would be easy to show, were it ex- 
pedient in the present case, that all such expressions and repre- 
sentations imbody in them the idea of a plurality of worlds, 
without which they would appear either inexplicable, or as a spe- 
cies of bombast, unworthy of the character of inspired writers. 
So that, to whatever department of nature we direct our contem- 
plations, we perceive its correspondence with the sentiments ex- 
pressed in the sacred writings, and find in these writings the most 
sublime and appropriate language in which to express those emo- 
tions which the diversified scenes of the material world are cal- 
culated to inspire. 

We may now ask, if such an assertion can be made, in truth, 
with regard to any other writings, ancient or modern, whose sen- 
timents have not been derived from the sacred oracles ? Can we 
find in the writings of all the poets, philosophers, and orators of 
Greece and Rome, sentiments so dignified, appropriate, and sub- 
lime, in relation to the objects to which we have alluded? Do not 
such writers frequently misrepresent and even caricature the sys- 
, tern of nature ? Are not their descriptions of the gods, and the 
: actions they attribute to them, in many instances, mean, ridicu- 
lous, unworthy of the character of superior beings, and even in 
the highest degree immoral and profane ? And, if we turn to the 
literature and the sacred books of the Chinese, the Persians, the 



262 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Advantage! i :" an intel ig< nl Study of the Scriptures. 



Hindoos, or the Japanese, shall we find anything superior? And 
is n<>t the circumstance to which we have adverted, a strong pre- 
sumptive evidence that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
ment were written under the inspiration of the Almighty ; and 
consequently, that they are "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
and for instruction in righteousness, that the the man of God mav 
be made perfect, and thoroughly furnished unto all good works?" 

Such is a brief view of some of the advantages which may be 
derived from history and general science in the study of the Scrip- 
tures. There is, indeed, scarcely a branch of useful knowledge, 
of whatever description, but may be rendered in some way or 
another subservient to the elucidation of the sacred oracles, and 
in enabling us to take a wide and comprehensive view of the 
facts and doctrines they declare. Were the great body of man- 
kind, therefore, instructed in general knowledge, and accustomed 
to rational investigations, they would be enabled to study the Scrip- 
tures with much greater interest and intelligence than they can 
now be supposed to do. They would perceive the beauty and 
sublimity of their language, the dignity and excellence of the 
sentiments they contain, the purity of their doctrines, and the 
beneficent tendency of their moral precepts ; and, by familiariz- 
ing their minds with the numerous and multifarious facts they 
exhibit, and comparing them with the history of nations, and with 
passing events, they would gradually acquire an enlightened and 
comprehensive view of God's superintending providence. The 
study of the Scriptures, in their native simplicity, with the helps 
now alluded to, and without the intermixture of the technical 
language of theologians, and of party opinions, would be of vast 
importance in religion. It would convince the unbiassed inquirer 
how little foundation there is in the Scriptures themselves for 

ay of those numerous disputes about metaphysical dogmas, 
which have rent the Christian world into a number of shreds and 
patches, and produced jealousy and animosity, where love and 
affection should have appeared predominant. He would soon 
be enabled to perceive, that the system of Revelation chiefly 
Consists of a series of important facts, connected with the dis- 
pensations of God towards our race, and interwoven with a 
variety of practical and interesting truths; and that the grand 
design of the whole is to counteract the effects of moral evil, to 
display the true character of Deity, to promote love to God and 
man, to inculcate the practice of every heavenly virtue, and to 
form mankind into one harmonious and affectionate society. 
He would find none of the technical terms and phraseology 
which the schoolmen and others have introduced into their sys- 



I 



STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 263 



Effects of practical Scriptural Knowledge. 



terns of theology ; nor any of those anathemas, which one sec- 
tary has so frequently levelled at another, applied to any one, 
excepting to those "who love not our Lord Jesus in sincerity." 
He would naturally be led to the conclusion, that what is not 
clearly and explicitly stated in the Scriptures, or but obscurely 
hinted at, in reference to the external government of the church 
or anv other subject, cannot be a matter of primary importance, 
and, consequently, ought never to be the subject of virulent dis- 
pute, or the cause of dissension or separation among Christians 
— and that those things only are to be considered as the promi- 
nent and distinguishing truths of religion which are the most 
frequently reiterated, and expressed with such emphasis and per- 
spicuity, that " he who runs may read them." 

Again, such an intelligent study of the Scriptures as would 
accompany the acquisition of general knowledge, would have a 
tendency to promote the union of the Christian church. Igno- 
rance and distorted views of the truths of revelation are almost 
uniformly accompanied with illiberality and self-conceit ; and 
where these prevail, silly prejudices are fostered, and party 
opinions tenaciously adhered to, and magnified into undue im- 
portance. But an enlightened mind, — the farther it advances in 
the path of knowledge and in the study of the Sacred Oracles, 
the more will it perceive the limited nature of its faculties, and 
the difficulty of deciding on certain mysterious doctrines ; and 
consequently, the more will it be disposed to grant to every other 
mind a liberty of thought on subordinate religious subjects, and 
to make every allowance for those educational prejudices and 
other causes which have a tendency to warp the mind to certain 
favourite opinions. And, when such a disposition more generally 
prevails, and is accompanied with the exercise of Christian love 
and moderation — the spirit of party will be gradually undermined, 
and all who recognise the grand and essential features of genuine 
Christianity will unite in one lovely and harmonious society. But 
so long as ignorance and habits of mental inactivity prevail among 
the great body of the population, such a happy consummation 
cannot be expected.* 

In short, were the sacred writings studied with reverence and 
attention, and those departments of knowledge to which I have 
alluded brought forward to assist in their investigation, infidelity 
would soon feel ashamed of its ignorance and impertinence, and 
hide its head in retirement and obscurity. It is owing, in a great 
measure, to ignorance of the Scriptures, that so many avowed 

* For a more full illustration of this topic, see Section V. 



264 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Folly of Infidelity. 



infidels are to be found in society. " They speak evil of the 
things which they know not ;" " their mouth speaketh great 
swelling words" of vanity against truths which they never inves- 
tigated, and which, of course, they do not understand. Even 
some of those who attempted to write against revelation are not 
ashamed to avow, that they have never either read or studied the 
writings it contains. Paine, one of the most virulent adversaries 
of Christianity, had the effrontery to affirm, that, when he wrote 
the first part of his "Age of Reason," he was without a Bible, 
"Afterward," he tells us, in school-boy language, "I procured a 
Bible and a Testament." Who but an arrant fool would have 
made such a declaration, and thus have proclaimed his own im- 
pertinence and folly? and who would have listened with patience 
to such an impudent avowal, had it been made in relation to any 
other subject ? For, to attempt to answer a book, which one had 
not read, is surely the height of presumption and impudence, and 
plainly indicates that the mind was previously prejudiced against 
it, and determined to oppose its sentiments. Others have looked 
into the Bible, and skimmed over its contents, with the express 
purpose of finding faults and contradictions. Emerson the ma- 
thematician, having imbibed a disrelish for the Scriptures, endea- 
voured to satisfy his mind that they were not divine, by picking 
out a number of insulated passages, which he conceived to be 
contradictions, and set them, one opposite to another, in two se- 
parate columns, and then was bold enough to aver that he had 
proved the Bible to be an imposture. Is it any wonder that men 
who presume to act in this manner should never come to the 
knowledge of the truth ? What book in the world would stand such 
an ordeal? There is no treatise on any subject whatever, which, 
if treated in this manner, might not be made to appear a mass of 
absurdities and contradictions. If the Bible is to be read at all, 
it must be perused both with reverence and with intelligence ; 
and there is no one who enters on the study of it, in such a state 
of mind, but will soon perceive that it contains " the witness in 
itself," that it is from God, and will feel that it is " quick and 
powerful" in its appeals to the conscience, and a " searcher of 
the thoughts and intents of the heart." But he who reads it either 
with scorn, with neg •-, or with prejudice, needs not wonder 

if he shall find himself only confirmed in his folly and unbelief. 
" For a Bcorner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not; but know- 
ledge is i asy unto him that hath understanding." 

I have dwelt at considerable length on the topic of Christian- 
ity, because it is a subject of peculiar interest and importance to 
every individual. If, in systems of education, and in the means 



ESTIMATE OF HUMAN CHARACTER. 265 

Character often estimated by Wealth. 



by which mankind at large may be enlightened and improved, the 
knowledge of religion be overlooked, and its moral requisitions 
disregarded, more evil than good may be the result of the disse- 
mination of general and scientific knowledge. We have a proof 
of this, in the scenes of anarchy, licentiousness, and horror which 
succeeded the first French revolution, when revealed religion 
was publicly discarded, and atheism, infidelity, and fatalism, ac- 
companied with legalized plundering, became " the order of the 
day." If knowledge is not consecrated to a moral purpose, and 
prosecuted with a reference to that immortal existence to which 
we are destined, the utility of its general diffusion might be justly 
called in question. But, when prosecuted in connexion with the 
important discoveries of revelation, it has a tendency to raise 
man to the highest dignity of which his nature is susceptible, and 
to prepare him for more exalted pursuits and enjoyments in the 
life to come. 



SECTION X. 

Miscellaneous Advantages of Knowledge briefly stated. 

In this section, I shall briefly advert to several advantages 
which would flow from a general diffusion of knowledge, not 
directly included in those which have already been stated. 

I. Minds tutored in knowledge and habits of reflection, ivould 
be led to form just estimates of human character and enjoyment. 

The bulk of mankind are apt to form a false estimate of the 
characters of men, from considering only those adventitious cir- 
cumstances in which they are placed, and those external trap- 
pings with which they are adorned. Wherever wealth and splen- 
dour, and high-sounding titles have taken up their residence, the 
multitude fall down and worship at their shrine. The natural 
and acquired endowments of the mind are seldom appreciated 
and respected, unless they are clothed with a dazzling exterior. 
A man of genius, of virtue, and of piety, is not distinguished from 
the common herd of mankind, unless he can afford to live in an 
elegant mansion, to entertain convivial parties, and to mingle 
with the fashionable and polite. The poor and ignorant peasant 
looks up with a kind of veneration to my lord and my lady, as if 
they were a species of superior beings, though, perhaps, with the 
exception of a few trifling accomplishments, they are scarcely 
raised above the level of the vulgar whom they despise, in respect 
23 



2G6 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



False Estimate of Happiness. 



to intellectual attainments ; and they are often far beneath them 
in those moral accomplishments which constitute the true glory 
of man, — being too frequently the slaves of many foolish caprices 
and unhallowed passions. To pay homage to mere titles, rank, 
or riches, has a tendency to degrade the human mind, and has 
been the source of all that vassalage, slavery, and despotism 
which have prevailed in the world. On the other hand, the man 
of rank and fashion looks down with a species of disdain, and 
considers as unworthy of his notice, the man of talent, or the 
rational inquirer after truth, if he is clad in a homely dress, and 
possessed of only a small share of wealth ; because, forsooth, he 
is unqualified to accompany him to horse-races, assemblies, mas- 
querades, and other fashionable entertainments. Many an indi- 
vidual of superlative worth and merit has been thus overlooked 
by his superiors in rank, and even by the great body of his fellow- 
men, and has passed through the world almost unnoticed and 
unknown, except by a few minds congenial to his own. For the 
beauties and excellences of mind can only be perceived and 
appreciated by those whose mental faculties have been, in some 
degree, enlightened and improved, and who are qualified to esti- 
mate the value of a jewel, although its casket may be formed of 
coarse materials, and besmeared with sand and mud. 

The multitude form no less erroneous estimates in regard to 
human happiness. Having felt little other misery than that which 
arises from poverty, want, or excessive labour, they are apt to 
imagine, that where riches abound, and the avenues to every sen- 
sitive enjoyment are free and unobstructed, there misery can 
scarcely gain admittance, and the greatest share of human hap- 
piness must be found ; that where there is wealth there can be 
little sorrow, and that those who glide along in splendour and 
affluence can scarcely be acquainted with the cares and anxieties 
which press so heavily upon the rest of mankind. Hence the 
ruling passion, w r hich distinguishes the majority of mankind, to 
aspire after elevated station and rank, and to accumulate riches, 
although it should be at the expense of trampling under foot every 
social duty, and every moral principle, and even at the risk of 
endangering life itself. Hence, the idle and the vicious are led 
to imagine, that if they can but lay hold of wealth, whether by 
fraud, by deceit, or by open violence, they will be able to admi- 
nister nutriment to those desires which, when gratified, will com- 
plete their happiness. 

It is evident, that, nothing can be supposed more effectual for 
counteracting such fallacious tendencies of the human mind than 
the cultivation of reason, the expanding of the intellectual facul- 



ESTIMATE OF HUMAN ENJOYMENT. 267 



Insufficiency of Wealth. 



ties, and the habit of applying the principles of knowledge to the 
diversified phenomena of human character and conduct. The 
man whose mind is accustomed to investigation, and to take an 
extensive range through the regions of science, and who consi- 
ders his mental powers as the chief characteristic by which he is 
distinguished in the scale of animal existence, will naturally be 
guided in his estimates of human character by moral and intel- 
lectual considerations. His eye will easily penetrate through the 
thin veil of exterior and adventitious accompaniments, and appre- 
ciate what alone is worthy of regard in the characters of men, 
whether they be surrounded by wealth and splendour, or immersed 
in poverty or obscurity. And with respect to human happiness, 
a person of this description will easily enter into such a train of 
reasoning as the following, and feel its force : — That, in respect 
of wealth, what we cannot reach may very well be forborne ; that 
the inequality of happiness on this account is, for the most part, 
much less than it seems ; that the greatness which we admire at 
a distance, has much fewer advantages and much less splendour, 
when we are suffered to approach it ; that the happiness which 
we imagine to be found in high life, is much alloyed and dimi- 
nished by a variety of foolish passions and domestic cares and 
anxieties, of which we are generally ignorant ; and that the appa- 
rent infelicity of the lower stations in society is frequently mode- 
rated by various moral and domestic comforts, unknown to many 
of those who occupy the highest ranks of social life. There is a 
certain portion of external enjoyment without which no man can 
be happy ; and there is a certain portion of wealth to procure 
this enjoyment which every rank of society ought to possess, and 
which even the lowest ranks would obtain, were the movements 
of the social machine properly conducted. But to pursue riches 
with all the violence of passion, as the chief end of our being, is 
not only degrading to our intellectual natures, and tends to block 
up the avenues to tranquil enjoyment, but is fraught with toil and 
anxiety, and innumerable hazards. "Wealth," says a certain 
moral writer, "is nothing in itself; it is not useful but when it 
departs from us ; its value is found only in that which it can pur- 
chase, which, if we suppose it put to its best use by those that 
possess it, seems not much to deserve the desire or envy of a 
wise man. It is certain, that with regard to corporeal enjoyment, 
money can neither open new avenues to pleasure, nor block up 
the passages of anguish. Disease and infirmity still continue to 
torture and enfeeble, perhaps exasperated by luxury, or promoted 
by softness. With respect to the mind, it has rarely been observed, 
that wealth contributes much to quicken the discernment, enlarge 



268 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION ON KNOWLEDGE. 



Proper Use of Riches. 



Ihe capacity, or elevate the imagination; but may, by hiring 
Battery, or laying diligence asleep, confirm error and harden 

stupidity.'' 

Such are some of the views and principles by which an en- 
lightened mind will naturally estimate the characters and enjoy- 
ments of mankind. Were the great body of the population in 
every country qualified to enter into such reasonings, and to feel 
the force of such considerations, it could not fail of being accom- 
panied with many beneficial effects. It would temper that fool- 
ish adulation which ignorance and imbecility so frequently offer 
at the shrine of wealth and splendour ; and would undermine 
those envious and discontented dispositions with which the lower 
ranks are apt to view the riches and possessions of the great. 
As moral principle and conduct, associated with intelligence, are 
the only proper objects of respect in the human character, it 
would lead persons to form a judgment of the true dignity of man, 
not by the glitter of affluence, or the splendour of equipage, but 
by those moral and intellectual qualities and endowments, which, 
in every station, demand our regard, and which constitute the real 
glory of the human character. It would tend to counteract the 
principle of avarice, which has produced so many miseries and 
mischiefs in society, and to promote that contentment under the 
allotments of Divine Providence in which consists the chief part 
of the happiness of mankind. And while it would counteract 
the tendency to foolish and immoral pursuits, it would direct to 
those rational pursuits and enjoyments which are pure and per- 
manent, and congenial to the high dignity and destination of man. 
In short, were the attention of the higher and influential classes 
turned away from hounding and horce-racing, masquerades, gam- 
bling, and such like frivolous amusements, and directed to the study 
of useful science, we might expect to behold them patronizing 
philanthropic and scientific characters in their plans and investi- 
gations, and devoting a portion of their wealth to carry forward 
those improvements by which the comforts of mankind would be 
increased, and science and art carried nearer to perfection. The 
twentieth part of that wealth which is too frequently spent in fash- 
ionable follies, \\( re it devoted to such purposes, would be of incal- 
culable service to the interests both of humanity and of science. 

II. The acquisition of general knowledge would enable persons 
to profit by their attendance on public instructions. 

In the present day, lectures on popular philosophy, astronomy, 
chymistry, geology, and political economy, are occasionally de- 
livered in the principal cities and towns of Great Britain ; but, 
out of a population of thirty or forty thousand, it frequently hap- 



PUBLIC INSTRUCTIONS, 269 



Ignorance the Source of Inattention. 



pens, that scarcely thirty or forty individuals can be collected to 
listen to instructions on such subjects. This, no doubt, is partly 
owing to the fee demanded for admission, which is sometimes 
beyond the reach of many intelligent persons in the low T er walks 
of life. But it is chiefly owing to, the want of taste for such 
branches of knowledge — to ignorance of the elements of general 
science — and to unaquaintance with the terms which require to 
be used in the explanation of such subjects, arising from the want 
of intellectual instruction in early life. Even of the few who 
generally attend such lectures, there is not perhaps the one-half 
who can enter with intelligence into the train of reasoning and 
illustration brought forward by the lecturer, or feel much interest 
in the discussions, excepting when their eyes are dazzled with 
some flashy experiment. Hence it follows, that very little know- 
ledge comparatively can be communicated in this way to the 
population at large, owing to the deficiency of previous instruc- 
tion, — and that systems of intellectual education, more extensive 
and efficient than those which have hitherto been in operation,, 
require to be adopted, before the great body of the people can be 
supposed to profit by attendance on courses of lectures on any 
department of knowledge. 

The same remark will apply, with a few modifications, to the 
instructions delivered by the teachers of religion. For w 7 ant of 
a proper foundation being previously laid, in the exercise of the 
rational faculty, and the acquisition of general information, com- 
paratively little advantage is derived fror# the sermons and ex- 
pository lectures delivered by the ministers of the gospel. Of a 
thousand individuals which may compose a worshipping assembly 
where religious instructions are imparted, there are seldom above 
two hundred (and most frequently much fewer) than can give any 
intelligent account of the train of thought which has been pursued, 
or the topics which have been illustrated, in the discourses to 
which they have professed to listen. This may be owing, in 
many instances, to the dry and abstract method by which certain 
preachers construct their discourses, and to the want of energy, 
and the dull and monotonous manner in which they are delivered. 
But, in the majority of instances, it is obviously owing to habits 
of inattention to subjects of an intellectual nature — to an inca- 
pacity for following a train of illustration or reasoning — and to 
the want of acquaintance with the meaning of many terms which 
theological instructers find it expedient to use in the construction 
of their discourses — and such deficiencies are to be ascribed to 
the mental faculties not having been exercised from infancy in 
die pursuit of knowledge and in rational investigations. 
23* 



270 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

General Deficiency of Knowledge. 



This deficiency of knowledge and intellectual culture seems to 
be virtually acknowledged by the ministers of religion ; since, in 
their general discourses, they confine themselves, for the most 
part, to the elucidation of the first principles of religion. Instead 
of exhibiting a luminous and comprehensive view of the whole 
scenery of divine revelation, and illustrating its various parts from 
the history of nations, the system of nature, and the scenes of 
human life — they generally confine their discussions to a few 
topics connected with what are termed the fundamental doctrines 
of the gospel. Instead of " going on to perfection," as the apos- 
tle Paul exhorts, by tracing the elements of Christianity in all 
their bearings on moral conduct and Christian contemplation, and 
endeavouring to carry forward the mind to the most enlarged 
views of the perfections of God and the " glory of his kingdom" 
— they feel themselves under the necessity of recurring again and 
again to " the first principles of the doctrine of Christ" — feeding 
their hearers " with milk" instead of " strong meat." And the 
reason assigned for waiving the consideration of the more sub- 
lime topics of natural and revealed religion, and thus limiting 
the subject of their discussions, is, that their hearers are unquali- 
fied to follow them in the arguments and illustrations which be- 
hooved to be brought forward on such subjects — that such an 
attempt would be like speaking to the winds or beating the air, 
and would infallibly mar their edification. If this reason be valid 
(and that it is partly so there can be little doubt), it implies that 
some glaring deficiency must exist in the mental culture of the 
great body of professing Christians, and that it ought to be reme- 
died by every proper mean, in order that they may be qualified to 
advance in the knowledge of the attributes, the works, and the 
ways of God, and to " go on unto perfection." 

It is foretold in the sacred oracles, that " men shall speak of 
the might of God's terrible acts," that " his saints shall speak of 
Ike ^lonj of his kingdom, and talk of his jioicer, to make known 
to the sons of men his mighty operations and the glorious ma- 
jesty of his kingdom." This prediction has never yet been ful- 
filled in reference to the great body of the Christian church. For, 
where do we find one out of twenty among the hearers of the 
gospel capable of rehearsing the " terrible acts" of God, either in 
his moral or his physical operations — of tracing the dispensations 
of his providence towards nations and communities, in a con- 
, from the commencement of time, through the suc- 
ive periods of history — and of comparing the desolations of 
cities and the ruins of empires with the declarations of ancient 
prophecy ? "Where do we find one out of a hundred capable of 



PUBLIC THEOLOGICAL INSTRUCTIONS. 271 



Acquisition of Knowledge the Duty and Interest of All. 

expatiating on the " power" of Jehovah, and on the most striking 
displays of this perfection which are exhibited throughout the vast 
creation 1 Or where shall we find those who are qualified to dis- 
play the magnificence of that empire which is " established in 
the heavens," embracing within its boundaries thousands of suns 
and ten thousands of worlds — or ? to speak," with intelligence, 
" of the glory of that kingdom which ruleth over all," and thus 
11 to make known to others the mighty operations" carried on by 
Jehovah, " and the glorious majesty of his kingdom V It is ob- 
vious that no such qualifications yet exist among the majority of 
members which compose the visible church. And yet the pre- 
dictions to which we refer must be realized, at some period or 
another, in the history of the divine dispensations. And, is it not 
desirable that they should, in some degree, be realized in our own 
times ? And, if so, ought we not to exert all our influence and 
energies in endeavouring to accomplish so important and desirable 
an object ? And, in what manner are our energies in this respect 
to be exerted, but in concerting and executing, without delay, 
plans for the universal intellectual instruction of mankind ? For, 
without the communication of knowledge to a far greater extent, 
and much more diversified, than what has ever jet been consi- 
dered necessary for ordinary Christians, we can never expect to 
behold in the visible church " saints" endowed with such sublime 
qualifications as those to which we have alluded, or the approach 
of that auspicious era when " all shall know the Lord," in the 
highest sense of the expression, " from the least even to the 
greatest." 

To obtain a comprehensive, and as far as possible a complete 
view of the system of revelation in all its parts and bearings, and 
to be enabled to comply with all its requirements, is both the duty 
and the interest of every man. But, in order to this attainment, 
1 there must be acquired a certain habit of thinking and of meditat- 
ing. In vain does a person turn over whole volumes, and attempt 
to peruse catechisms, bodies of divinity, or even the Scriptures 
, themselves, — he can never comprehend the dependencies, con- 
, nexions, and bearings of divine truth, and the facts they explain 
, and illustrate, unless he acquire a habit of arranging ideas, of 
laying down principles, and deducing conclusions. But this habit 
cannot be acquired without a continued series of instructions, 
especially in the early part of life, accompanied with serious atten- 
; tion and profound application. For want of such prerequisites the 
I great body of Christians do not reap half the benefit they other- 
wise might from the preaching of the gospel ; and, " when for the 
time they ought to be teachers of others, they have still need that 



278 PHB GENERAL diffusion of knowledge. 



Consequences of its Diffusion. 



one teach them again, which be the first principles of the oracles 
of God." " Hence it is," says a celebrated preacher, " that the 
greatest part of our sermons produce so little fruit, because ser- 
mons are, at least they ought to be, connected discourses, in 
which the principle founds the consequence, and the consequence 
follows the principle ; all which supposes in the hearers a habit 
of meditation and attention. For the same reason, we are apt to 
be offended when any body attempts to draw us out of the sphere 
of our prejudices, and are not only ignorant, but ignorant from 
gravity, and derive I know not what glory from our own stupid- 
ity. Hence it is, that a preacher is seldom or never allowed to 
Boar in his sermons, to rise into the contemplation of some lofty 
mid rapturous objects, but must always descend to the first prin- 
ciples of religion, as if he preached for the first time, or as if his 
auditors for the first time heard. Hence our preachers seem to 
lead us into obscure paths, and to lose us in abstract speculations, 
whed they treat of some of the attributes of God, such as his 
faithfulness, his love of order, his regard for his intelligent crea- 
tures. It is owing to this that we are, in some sense, well ac- 
quainted with some truths of religion, while we remain entirely 
ignorant of others. Hence also it is, that some doctrines which 
are true in themselves, demonstrated in our Scriptures, and essen- 
tial to religion, become errors, yea, sources of many errors in our 
mouths, because we consider them only in themselves, and not in 
connexion with other doctrines, or in the proper places to which 
they belong in the system of religion." 

Were we then, without delay, to set on foot plans of universal 
instruction, on a rational principle — where the young generation 
to be universally trained up in rational exercises and habits of 
reflection, first at infant schools, and afterwards at seminaries of 
a higher order, conducted on the same intellectual principle, and 
this system of tuition continued to the age of manhood, we should, 
ere long, behold a wonderful change in the state of society, in the 
intelligence of the Christian people, and in the illustrations of re- 
i which would be introduced into the pulpit. We should 
behold thousands of intelligent worshippers crowding our reli- 
blies, with minds prepared for receiving instruction, 
irly listening to arguments and illustrations in reference to 
the most sublime and important subjects. We should behold our 
prea< \ plaining the first principles of religion with such 

clearness an y, that they should seldom need to recur to 

abject, M soaring in their sermons," rising into u the con- 
templation of some lofty and rapturous objects" — displaying the 
majesty and supremacy of God in the operations of his moral 



PERSECUTIONS ON ACCOUNT OP RELIGION. 273 

Public Instructions. 



government among the nations, descanting on his glorious attri- 
butes, exhibiting his wisdom in the arrangements of nature and 
the movements of his providence, illustrating his omnipotence 
and grandeur from the glories of the firmament, and the magni- 
tude of the universe — directing their hearers to the contemplation 
of the works of his hand as illustrations of the declarations of his 
word — demonstrating the truth of revelation from its powerful 
and beneficent effects — enforcing the holy tempers and the duties 
which religion requires from every rational and scriptural motive 
— illustrating the effects of moral evil from the history of nations 
and the miseries in which it has involved individuals and societies 
— expatiating on schemes of philanthropy for the improvement of 
mankind, and the conversion of the heathen, and displaying the 
love and mercy of God towards our race, and the connexions 
and bearings of the work of redemption, in its relation to the 
angelic tribes and other beings, and in its glorious and happy 
consequences on unnumbered multitudes of mankind, throughout 
the ages of eternity. In such a state of Christian society we 
should have no dull monotonous preachers, skimming over the 
surface of an abstract subject, in a twenty minutes' sermon, and 
leaving their hearers as dull, and lifeless, and uninformed, as they 
found them ; but all our public services would be conducted with 
life, and energy, and pathos, and by men of sanctified dispositions 
and enlightened understandings, "not given to" idleness and 
" filthy lucre," but having their whole faculties absorbed in the 
study of the word, the ways, and the works of God. And, in 
order to expand the minds of the Christian people, and to prepare 
them for listening with intelligence to such instructions, we should 
have Courses of Lectures on Natural History, Philosophy, 
Astronomy, and General History, attended by thousands of 
anxious inquires, instead of the tens which can be now induced to 
attend on such means of instruction. For knowledge, when it is 
clearly exhibited, and where a previous desire has been excited 
for its acquisition, is a source of enjoyment to the human mind 
in every stage of its progress, from the years of infancy to the 
latest period of mortal existence. 

III. Such a diffusion of knowledge as that to which we have 
now adverted, ivould introduce a spirit of tolerance and modera- 
tion, and prevent the recurrence of those persecutions for conscience* 
sake, which have so much disgraced the world. 

It is a striking and most melancholy fact in the history of man, 
that the most dreadful sufferings and tortures ever felt by human 
beings, have been inflicted on account of differences of opinion 



1271 ON TIIF. GBNERAL D1FFU8ION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

■ ■ ■ - • — 

Cruelty and Polly of Persecution. 



respecting the dogmas and the ceremonies of religion. Men 
have been suffered to remain villains, cheats, and robbers, de- 
ceitful, profligate, and profane, to invade the territories of their un- 
offending neighbours, to burn cities and towns, to lay waste pro- 
vinces, and slaughter thousands of their fellow-creatures, and to 
pass with impunity; while, in numerous instances, the most pious, 
upright, and philanthropic characters have been hurried like 
criminals to stakes, gibbets, racks, and flames, merely for hold- 
ing an opinion different from their superiors respecting a doctrine 
in religion, or the manner in which the Divine Being ought to be 
worshipped. In the early ages of Christianity, under the emperor 
Nero, the Christians were wrapped up in the skins of wild beasts, 
and some of them in this state worried and devoured by dogs ; 
others were crucified, and others dressed in shirts made stiff with 
wax, fixed to axle-trees, and set on fire, and consumed in the 
gardens at Rome. Such dreadful persecutions continued under 
the heathen emperors, with a few intervals, to the time of Con- 
stantine, a period of more than two hundred and thirty years. It 
might not be so much to be wondered at that pagans should per- 
secute the followers of Christ ; but it was not long before pre- 
tended Christians began to persecute one another on account of 
certain shades of difference in their religious opinions. The 
persecutions to which the Waldenses and Albigenses were sub- 
jected by the popish church, the strangling and burning of sup- 
■d heretics, and the tortures inflicted on those suspected of 
favouring the doctrines of Protestantism by the Spanish Inquisi- 
tion — a court whose history is written in flames, and in characters 
of blood — exhibit a series of diabolic cruelties, the recital of 
which is enough to make " the ears of every one to tingle," and 
to make him feel as if he were degraded in belonging to a race of 
intelligences capable of perpetrating such dreadful enormities. 

Even in the British isles such persecutions have raged, and 
such cruelties have been perpetrated, and that too, in the name 
of the benevolent religion of Jesus Christ. In our times, the 
more appalling and horrific forms which persecution formerly 
assumed have been set aside by the civil laws of our country, but 
its spirit still remains, and manifests itself in a variety of different 
shapes. W hat other name can be given to a power which pre- 
vents a numerous and respectable body of men from holding 
certain civil offices and emoluments, because they do not belong 
to an established church, and yet compels them to contribute to 
the maintenance of the ministers of that church, although they 
do not recognise them as their religious instructers ! that denies 
(0 a diss< nter, or his children, the privilege of being interred in 



PERSECUTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF RELIGION. 275 



Absurdity of Persecution. 



what is called consecrated ground, and refuses to allow a bell to 
be tolled at their funerals 1 — that, in Scotland, prevents a person, 
however distinguished for moral qualifications and intellectual 
acquirements, from being eligible as teacher of a parochial school, 
if he is not connected with the established church 1 and in many 
other ways attempts to degrade thousands of individuals on ac- 
count of their thinking and acting according to the dictates of 
their conscience ? It is true, indeed, that fires, and racks, and 
tortures, and gibbets, and thumb- screws are no longer applied as 
punishments for differences of opinion in religion, for the strong 
hand of the civil law interposes to prevent them. But, were no 
such power interposed, the principle which sanctions such depri- 
vations as those now mentioned, if carried out to all its legitimate 
consequences, might soon lead to as dreadful persecutions as 
those which have already entailed indelible disgrace on the race 
of man. 

Such a spirit of intolerance and persecution is directly opposed 
to every rational principle, to every generous and humane feeling, 
to every precept of Christianity, and to every disposition incul- 
cated by the religion of Jesus. It is the height of absurdity to 
enforce belief in any doctrine or tenet, by the application of phy- 
sical power, for it never can produce the intended effect ; it may 
harden and render persons more obstinate in their opinions, but 
it can never convey conviction to the understanding. And if 
men had not acted like fools and idiots, as well as like demons, 
such a force, in such cases, w r ould never have been applied. 
And, as such an attempt is irrational, so it is criminal in the 
highest degree, to aim at producing conviction by the application 
of flames, or by the point of the sword ; being at direct variance 
both with the precepts and the practice of the Benevolent Foun- 
der of our holy religion. 

We have, therefore, the strongest reason to conclude, that were 
the light of science and of Christianity universally diffused, the 
hydra of persecution would never dare, in any shape, to lift up its 
heads again in the world. As it was during the dark ages that it 
raged in its most horrific forms, so the light of intelligence would 
force it back to the infernal regions whence it arose, as the wild 
beasts of the forests betake themselves to their dens and thickets 
at the approach of the rising sun. Wherever reason holds its 
ascendancy in the mind, and the benevolence of Christianity is the 
great principle of human action, persecution will never be re- 
sorted to, either for extirpating error or enforcing belief in any 
opinions. An enlightened mind will at once perceive, that in 
punishing erroneous opinions by fines, imprisonment, racks, and 



276 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 




Promotion of a Spirit of Toleration. 



flames, there is no fitness between the punishment and the sup- 
posed crime. The came is a mental error, but penal laws have 
no internal operation on the mind, except to exasperate its feel- 
ings against the power that enforces them, and to confirm it more 
strongly in the opinions it has embraced. Errors of judgment, 
whether religious or political, can only be overturned by argu- 
ments and calm reasoning, and all the civil and ecclesiastical 
despots on earth, with all their edicts, and bulls, and tortures, 
will never be able to extirpate them in any other way. For the 
more that force is resorted to, to compel belief in any system of 
opinions, the more will the mind revolt at such an attempt, and 
the more will it he convinced, that such a system is worthless and 
untenable, since it requires such irrational measures for its sup- 
port. It can only tend to produce dissimulation and to increase 
the number of hypocrites and deceivers. An enlightened mind 
will also perceive, that such conduct is no less irreligious than it 
is irrational; for where persecution begins religion ends. Re- 
ligion proclaims "peace on earth and good-will to men;" all its 
doctrines, laws, and ordinances are intended to promote the hap- 
piness of mankind, both in " the life that now is and that whicfy 
is to come." But actions which tend to injure men in their per- 
sons, liberty, or property, under the pretence of converting them 
from error, must be directly repugnant to the spirit of that religion 
which is " pure and peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated," , 
and to the character of that benevolent Being whose " tender 
mercies are over all his works." If our religion required for its 
establishment in the world the infliction of civil pains and penal- 
ties on those who oppose it, it would be unworthy of being sup- 
ported by any rational being ; and it is a sure evidence that it is 
not the genuine religion of the Bible, but error and human inven- 
tions, under the mask of Christianity, that are intended to be 

tablished, when such means are employed for its propagation 
and support It requires very little reflection to perceive, that 
religion <i<><> not consist in mere opinions or ceremonial observ- 
3, hut in the cultivation and exercise of those heavenly vir- 
tuesand dispositions which tend to cement the family of mankind 
in brotherly affection, and to prepare them for the intercourses 
and employments of the celestial world; and if these are wanting 
or disregarded, religion becomes a mere inanity, and it is of little 
consequence what opinions men profess to entertain respecting it. 

In short, in an enlightened state of society, men would be dis- 
poned to allow the utmost freedom of thought on every subject 
not inconsistent with the good order of society, and would never- 
theless hold the most friendly intercourse with each other. They 



CONTENTIONS AMONG MANKIND. 277 

Promotion of a Spirit of Toleration. 



would clearly discern that the best way to reclaim the vicious, 
and to convert the erroneous, is, not to rail and to threaten, but 
to be affable and gentle, to bring forward cogent arguments, and 
" in meekness to instruct those who oppose themselves to the 
truth." They would see that many of those opinions and dogmas, 
in regard to religion, which have created heart-burnings and dis- 
sensions, are comparatively of trivial importance, — that the doc- 
trines in which all Christians agree are much more numerous, and 
of far greater importance, than those about which they differ, — that 
there are subjects on which the limited faculties of human beings 
are unable to form any clear or decisive opinions, — that the mind 
must form its opinions in accordance with the limited or the 
expansive range of its intellectual vision, — that where its mental 
view is narrow and confined, its conclusions must be somewhat 
different from those which are deduced by a mind qualified to 
take in a more extensive field of vision, — that the philosopher 
whose mind takes in at a grasp the general system of the world, 
and the diversified phenomena of the universe, must have ideas 
and modes of thinking materially different from those of the pea- 
sant, whose views are limited chiefly to the confines of his parish, 
and the objects immediately around him, — that there are few 
men wilfully erroneous, and that ignorance and vice are the 
principal causes of false and untenable opinions, — that due allow- 
ance ought always to be made for educational biasses, local 
prejudices, social influence, and the range of thought to which 
individuals have been accustomed, — that the exercise of love 
towards God and man is of infinitely greater importance than mere 
coincidence in opinion, and that a complete unanimity of opinion 
on every subject is not to be expected in the present state, perhaps 
not even in the future world. Were such considerations taken 
into account (and they would all be recognized in an enlightened 
state of society), those contentions and animosities which now 
rankle in the Christian church, and separate the different sectaries, 
would be laid to rest, persecution in every shape would be held in 
universal abhorrence, and peace, moderation, and candour .would 
distinguish the friends of religion and all classes of society. 

IV. — A universal diffusion of knowledge would vanquish the 
antipathies of nations, and tend to produce union and harmony 
among mankind. 

" God hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell 
I on all the face of the earth." But although they are all the off- 
spring of one Almighty Being, and descended from one original 
human pair, they have hitherto lived, for the most part, in a state 
24 



27 s - ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



A Contentious Spirit universally prevalent. 



of Strife and variance, of contention and warfare. The history 
of the world contains little else than details of the dissensions of 
nations, the tends of chieftains, " the tumults of the people," the 
revolutions of empires, and the scenes of devastation and carnage 
which have followed in their train. If we go as far back in our 
researches as the earliest historical records can carry us, we shall 
find that wars have prevailed, almost without intermission, in 
every age, in every country, and among every tribe. No sooner 
has one series of battles terminated than preparations have been 
made for another ; and in such contests magnificent cities have 
been tumbled into ruins, provinces desolated, kingdoms rent 
asunder, and thousands of thousands of human beings slaughtered 
with all the ferocity of infernal demons. It is not beyond the 
bounds of probability to suppose that, in those scenes of warfare, 
the eighth part of the human race, in every age, has been destroy- 
ed, or a number of mankind amounting to nearly twenty thousand 
millions, which is equal to twenty-five times the number of in- 
habitants at present existing in the world. And the leaders in 
such diabolical exploits, so far from repenting of their atrocities, 
have generally been disposed to glory in their crimes. 

Hence the jealousies, the antipathies, and the hatred which 
subsisted, and which still subsist, between neighbouring nations. 
The Turks hate the Greeks, and, as far as in their power, inflict 
upon them every species of cruelty and injustice. The Chinese 
hate the Europeans, cheat them if they can, and pride themselves 
in their fancied superiority over all other nations. The Moors 
of Africa hate the Negroes, plunder their villages, and reduce 
them to slavery : the King of Dahomey wages almost continual 
war with neighbouring tribes, and adorns the walls of his palace 
with the skulls of prisoners taken in battle. The Algerines and 
the Emperors of Morocco live in a state of continual warfare 
with Christian nations, seize upon their ships, and reduce their 
crews to slavery. The Monucaboes, who inhabit the inland 
parts of Malacca, live at variance with all around them, and never 
fail to set fire to the ripening grain in every field that is unpro- 
tected and unenclosed. The Arabians are set against every 
other nation, and roam through their deserts, attacking caravans 
and travellers of every description. The inhabitants of one part 
of New-Zealand are almost in a continual state of enmity against 
those of another, and the natives of almost every island in the 
Indian and Pacific Oceans, if not engaged in actual contests, are 
in a state of warlike attitude with regard to each other. Even 
nations advanced to high degrees of civilization are found indulg- 
ing the meanest and most unreasonable jealousies and antipathies 



KNOWLEDGE CONDUCIVE TO UNION. 279 



Establishment of Universal Peace. 



in relation to one another. The French and the English, whom 
nature has separated only by a narrow channel of the sea, and 
who are distinguished above all other nations for their discoveries 
and improvements in the arts, have, for centuries, fostered a 
spirit of jealousy and rivalship, which has produced political ani- 
mosities, hatred, wars, and ruin to the financial and commercial 
interests of both nations. During the wars which succeeded the 
French revolution, this spirit of hatred and enmity rose to such a 
pitch, that a large proportion of each nation would have, with 
pleasure, beheld the other hurled with fury into the infernal 
regions.* 

Is there no prospect, then, that such antipathies shall ever be 
extirpated, and harmony restored to the distracted nations? Shall 
the earth be for ever swept with the besom of destruction ? Shall 
war continue its ravages without intermission ? Shall hatred still 
rankle among all nations, and peace never wave its olive-branch 
over the world ? Are we to sit down in hopeless despair that a 
union among the nations will ever be effected, because wars have 
continued since the beginning of the world? No: we have no 
reason to despair of ultimate success, when the moral machinery 
calculated to effectuate the object shall be set in motion. As ig- 
norance is the parent of vice, the nurse of pride, avarice, ambi- 
tion, and other unhallowed passions, from which wars derive their 
origin, so, when the strong holds of ignorance shall be demo- 
lished, and the light of intelligence shall shed its influence over 
the world, and the opposite principles of humility, moderation, 
and benevolence shall pervade the minds of men, the founda- 
tions of the system of warfare will be shaken, and a basis laid 
for the establishment of universal peace. However long the 
ravages of war have desolated and convulsed the world, it is an- 
nounced in the decree of heaven, that a period shall arrive u when 
wars shall cease unto the ends of the earth ;" and the era when 
warriors " shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their 
spears into pruning-hooks, and learn the art of war no more," is 
coeval with the period foretold in ancient prophecy, when " the 
knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, and when all shall 
know him from the least to the greatest." 

Knowledge has a tendency to unite the hearts of all who are 

* During the wars alluded to, a gentleman (conversing with the author on 
the subject), who was uttering the most virulent invectives against the French, 
concluded by saying, " After all, I wish no great evil to the French ; I only 
wish they were all safely landed in heaven," plainly intimating that he consider- 
ed them unworthy to live upon the earth, and that the sooner they were cut 
off from it, and sent to the other world, so much the better, whether their fate 
should be to dwell in the shades of Tartarus or the abodes of Elysium, 



280 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



French uid English Philosophers* 



engaged in its pursuit: it forms a bond of union among its vota- 
ries more firm and permanent than that which unites princes and 
statesmen, — especially if his conjoined with Christian principles 
and virtuous dispositions. Congeniality of sentiments and simi- 
larity of pursuits gradually weaken the force of vulgar prejudices) 
and tend to demolish those harriers which the jealousies of na- 
tions have thrown around each other. True philosophers, whe- 
ther English, Swedish) Russian, Swiss, German, or Italian, 
maintain an intimate and affectionate correspondence with each 
other on every subject of literature and science, notwithstanding 
the antipathies of their respective nations. During the late 
long-continued and destructive warfare between the French and 
English, which was carried on with unprecedented hostility and 
rancour, the naturalists, mathematicians, astronomers, and che- 
mists of the two countries held the most friendly correspondence 
in relation to the subjects connected with their respective depart- 
ments, in so far as the jealousies of their political rulers would 
permit. In the communications of the French and English phi- 
losophers respecting the progress of scientific discovery, we find 
few traces of nationality, and should scarcely be able to learn 
from such communications that their respective nations were en- 
d in warfare, unless when they lament the obstructions which 
interrupted their regular correspondence, and their injurious ef- 
fects on the interests of science. It is a well-known fact, that, 
during the late war, when political animosities ran so high, the 
National Institute of France announced prizes for the discussion 
of scientific questions, and invited the learned in other nations, 
not even excepting the English, to engage in the competition ; and 
one of our countrymen, Sir Humphrey Davy, actually obtained one 
of the most valuable and distinguished of these honorary awards. 
When knowledge is conjoined with a recognition of the Chris- 
tian precept, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," its pos- 
r will < asily be made to enter into such considerations as the 
following,and to feel their force: — That all men, to whatever nation 
or tribe; they b< long, are the children of one Almighty Parent, en- 
dowed with the same corporeal organs, the same intellectual powers, 
and the same lineaments of the Divine image — that theyare subject 
to the same animal and intellectual wants, exposed to the same 
accidents and calamities, and susceptible of the same pleasures and 
enjoyments — that they have the same capacities for attaining to 
higher d< of knowledge and felicity, and enjoy the same 

hopes and prospects of a blessed immortality — that God distri- 
butes among them all thousands of benefits, embellishing their 
habitations with the same rural beauties, causing the same sun 



TENDENCY OF KNOWLEDGE TO UNION. 281 

* ■« ■ - ■ - ■ ■■ ■ i r 

The Human Race all Members of one great Family. 

to enlighten them, the same vital air to make their lungs play, 
and the same rain and dews to irrigate their ground and ripen 
their fields to harvest — that they are all capable of performing 
noble achievements, heroic exploits, vast enterprises ; of dis- 
playing illustrious virtues, and of making important discoveries 
and improvements — that they are all connected together by nu- 
merous ties and relations, preparing for each other the bounties 
of Nature, and the productions of art, and conveying them by sea 
and land from one country to another ; one nation furnishing tea, 
another sugar, another wine, another silk, another cotton, and 
another distributing its manufactures in both hemispheres of 
the globe — in short, that they are all under the moral govern- 
ment of the same Omnipotent Being, who " hath made of one 
blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of all the earth, 
who hath determined the boundaries of their habitations," who 
carries them yearly around the centre of light and heat, and wh© 
44 gives them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling their 
hearts with food and gladness." How various, then, the ties, 
how sacred and indissoluble the bonds, which should unite men 
of all nations ! Every man, whether he be a Jew or a Greek, a 
Barbarian or a Scythian, a Turk or a Frenchman, a German or 
a Swede, a Hottentot or an Indian, an Englishman or a Chinese, 
is to be considered as our kinsman and our brother, and, as such, 
ought to be embraced with benevolence and affection. In what- 
ever region of the globe he resides, whatever customs or man- 
ners he adopts, and to whatever religious system he adheres, he 
is a member of the same family to which we all belong. And 
shall we feel indifferent to our brethren, shall we indulge resent- 
ment and hostility towards them, because they are separated from 
us by a river, by a channel, by an arm of the sea, by a range of 
mountains, or by an arbitrary line drawn by the jealousy of des- 
pots, or because their government and policy are different from 
ours ? Ought we not, on the contrary, to take a cordial interest 
in every thing that concerns them — to rejoice in their prosperity, 
to feel compassion on account of the ravages, desolation, and 
misery which error and folly, vice and tyranny may have produced 
among them ; and to alleviate, to the utmost of our power, the 
misfortunes and oppressions under which they groan ? Reason, 
as well as Christianity, spurns at the narrow-minded patriotism 
which confines its regards to a particular country, and would pro- 
mote its interests by any means, although it should prove injuri- 
ous to every other nation. Whatever tends to the general good 
of the whole human family will ultimately be found conducive to 
the prosperity and happiness of every particular nation and tribe ; 
24* 



2^2 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Antipathies of Nations removed. 



while, oo the other hand, a selfish and ungenerous conduct to- 
wards other communities, and an utt( m[>t to injure or degrade 
them, will seldom fail to deprive us of the benefits we wished to 

aire, and to expose us to the evils we intended to avert. Such 
appear in fact to be the principles of God's moral government 
among the nations, and such the sanctions by which the laws of 
natural justice are enforced. 

Were such sentiments universally recognised and appreciated, 
the antipathies of nations would speedily be vanquished, and union 
and harmony prevail among all the kindreds of the earth. And 
what a multitude of advantages would ensue — what a variety of 
interesting scenes would be presented — what an immense num- 
ber of delightful associations would be produced, were such a 
union c fleeted among mankind ! Were men over all the globe 
living in peace and harmony, every sea would be navigated, every 
region explored, its scenery described, its productions collected, 
its botanical peculiarities ascertained, and its geological structure 
investigated. The geography of the globe would be brought to 
perfection ; its beauties, harmonies, and sublimities displayed, 
and the useful productions of every clime transported to every 
country, and cultivated in every land. Science would, of course, 
be improved, and its boundaries enlarged ; new physical facts 
would be discovered for confirming and illustrating its principles, 
and a broad foundation laid for carrying it to perfection. While, at 
present, every traveller in quest of scientific knowledge in foreign 
lands is limited in his excursions, and even exposed to imminent 
danger, by the rancour of savage tribes and the jealousy of despotic 

( Tuments — in such a state of things, every facility would be 
given to his researches, and all the documents of history, and the 
i" nature and art, laid open to his inspection. He would 
lucted, as a friend and brother, through every city and rural 
: the pr of arts and manufactures, the curiosities of 

nature, and the archives of literature and science, would be laid 
open to his view ; and he would return to his native land loaded 
wiih whatever is curious and useful in nature and art, and enriched 
with DOfl ft & -ions to his treasures of knowledge. The know- 
ledge and arts of one country would thus be quickly transported 
to another; agricultural, manufacturing, and mechanical improve- 
- would be gradually introduced into every region ; barren 
wastes would be cultivated, forests cut down, marshes drained, 

- tounded, temples, schools, and academies erected, modes 
of rapid communication between distant countries established, 
mutual interchanges of affection promoted, and " the once barren 
deserts made to rejoice and blossom as the rose." 



EFFECTS OF UNION AMONG NATIONS. 2S3 



Mutual Intercommunication. 



We should then behold the inhabitants of distant countries ar- 
riving on our shores — not with tomahawks, clubs, spears, muskets, 
and other hostile weapons, but with the symbols of peace and the 
productions of their respective climes. We should behold the 
Malayans, the Chinese, the Cambodians, the Burmese, the Per- 
sians, and the Japanese, unfurling their banners on our coasts 
and rivers, unloading their cargoes of tea, coffee, siiks, nankeens, 
embroideries, carpets, pearls, diamonds, and gold and silver orna- 
ments and utensils — traversing our streets and squares in the 
costume of their respective countries, gazing at our shops and 
edifices, wondering at our manners and customs, mingling in our 
assemblies, holding intercourse with our artists and philosophers, 
attending our scientific lectures and experiments, acquiring a 
knowledge of our arts and sciences, and returning to their native 
climes to report to their countrymen the information they had re- 
ceived, and to introduce among them our discoveries and improve- 
ments. "We should behold the tawny Indians of Southern Asia 
forcing their way up its mighty rivers in their leathern canoes, to the 
extremities of the north, and displaying on the frozen shores of the 
icy sea the riches of the Ganges ; the Laplander covered with warm 
fur arriving in southern markets, in his sledge drawn by rein-deer, 
and exposing for sale the sable skins and furs of Siberia ; and the 
copper-coloured American Indian traversing the Antilles, and 
conveying from isle to isle his gold and emeralds." We should 
occasionally behold numerous caravans of Arabians, mounted on 
their dromedaries and camels, and tribes of Tartars, Bedouins, 
and Moors, visiting the civilized countries of Europe, laden with 
the rarities and riches of their respective countries, admiring the 
splendour of our cities and public edifices, learning our arts and 
manufactures, acquiring a knowledge of our literature and sci- 
ences, purchasing our commodities, procuring specimens of our 
philosophical instruments, steam-engines, and mechanical powers 
— inviting agriculturists, artists, mechanics, teachers, ministers of 
religion, mathematicians, and philosophers, to settle among them, 
for the purpose of improving their system of husbandry, rearing 
cities, towns, and villages, disseminating useful knowledge, and 
introducing the arts and enjoyments of civilized society — at the 
same time inviting them to contract marriages with their sisters 
and daughters, and thus, by new alliances, to reunite the branches 
of the human family, which, though descended from one common 
parent, have been so long disunited, — and which disunion, national 
prejudices and antipathies, as well as climate and complexion, 
have tended to perpetuate. And, while we were thus instrumental 
in imparting knowledge and improvements to other nations, we 



2S-4 ON THt GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



[ncrease of Historical Information. 



ourselves should reap innumerable advantages. Our travellers 
and navigators, into whatever regions they might wish to pene- 
trate, would feel secure from every hostile attack, and would re- 
cognise in every one they met a friend and a brother, ready to 
relieve their necessities, to contribute to their comfort, and to di- 
rect them in their mercantile arrangements and scientific re- 
searches. Our merchants and manufacturers would find nume- 
rous emporiums for their goods, and new openings for com- 
mercial enterprise, and w r ould import from other countries new 
conveniences and comforts for the use of their countrymen at 
home. 

From such friendly intercourses we should learn, more parti- 
cularly than we have yet done, the history of other nations, and 
the peculiar circumstances in which they have existed, particularly 
of those tribes which have been considered as moving beyond the 
range of civilized society. All that we at present know of the his- 
tory of many foreign nations consists of a few insulated sketches 
and anecdotes, picked up at random by travellers who passed only 
a few days or weeks in the countries they describe, who were be- 
held with suspicion, and were imperfectly acquainted with the 
languages of the inhabitants. But, from a familiar and confiden- 
tial intercourse, we should become acquainted with the whole se- 
ries of their history, so far as it is known, which might not only 
be curious and interesting in itself, but might throw a light on the 
records of other nations, on the facts of sacred history, and on the 
oeral history of the world. We might thus know something of 
the circumstances which attended the early diversion of man- 
kind, — the motives which determined each tribe to choose its se- 
parate, habitation in an unknown region, and which induced them 
to cross unknown arms of the sea, to traverse mountains which 
presented no path, and rivers which had not yet received a name, 
<<1 whose commencement and termination were alike unknown. 
The information which distant tribes refuse us, when we approach 
them like warlike adventurers or ambitious merchants, would be 
freely communicated, when we mingled with them as friends and 
benefactors, and especially, after we had been instrumental in 
melioratiiiL r their physical and moral condition, and in communi- 
cating to them our improvements. 

And, in the name of all that is sacred and benevolent, what 
should hinder such harmonious and affectionate intercourses be- 
tween nations from being universally realized? Are we not all 
brethren of one family? Have we not all one Father? Has 
not one Grod created us ? Does not the same planet support us, 
and the same atmosphere surround us? Does not the same sun 



EFFECTS OF UNION AMONG NATIONS. 285 

Change of Conduct necessary. 

■ - — 

cheer and enlighten us ? Have we not the same physical organi- 
zation, the same mental powers, and the same immortal destina- 
tion 1 And is it not the interest of every individual of the human 
family that such a friendly intercourse should he established? Are 
there any insuperable obstructions, any impassable barriers, any 
natural impossibilities, that prevent such a union among the na- 
tions ? JVo, — knowledge, combined with moral principle and true 
religion, if universally diffused, would speedily effectuate this won- 
derful transformation. Enlighten the understandings, direct the 
moral powers of man, extend the knowledge of Christianity 
through the world, and a broad foundation will be laid for univer- 
sal improvement, and universal friendship among all nations. 

But, in order that we may be instrumental in preparing the way 
for so desirable an event, our conduct towards other nations, and 
particularly towards uncivilized tribes, must be very different from 
what it has generally been in the ages that are past. We must 
become, not the plunderers and destroyers, but the instructers and 
benefactors of mankind. Instead of sending forth the artillery of 
war, for the subjugation of distant nations, we must uniformly 
display the banner of love and the branch of peace ; instead of 
despatching crowds of needy adventurers, fired with the cursed 
love of gold, to plunder and to kill, like the Spaniards in their con- 
quest of Mexico and Peru, — we must send forth armies of en- 
lightened benefactors, to traverse the benighted nations, to carry 
the knowledge of divine truth within the region of pagan darkness, 
to impart to them the blessings of instruction, and the comforts 
and conveniences of civilized life. Instead of landing on their 
shores swords and spears and musketry, — ploughshares, pruning 
hooks, and every other agricultural implement, must be plentifully 
supplied to all the inhabitants. Instead of carrying into slavery 
their children and relatives, and imbittering their lives with cruel 
treatment, like the Spaniards and the Portuguese, in reference to 
the African negroes, we must proclaim " liberty to the captives, 
and the opening of the prison-doors to them that are bouud." In 
short, our conduct must be almost diametrically opposite to that 
which political intriguers have generally pursued towards other 
states, if we would promote union among the nations. Our sel- 
fishness must be changed into beneficence, our pride into humili- 
ty, our avarice into generosity, and our malignity into kindness 
and benevolence. Kindness and benevolent attentions will some- 
times subdue even the most ferocious animals, and will seldom 
fail to soften the breasts of the most savage people, and to win 
their affections. There is scarcely an individual within the range 
of the human species, or even within the range of animated na- 



2SG ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Diversity <>f Christian Denominations, 



tare, but is susceptible of the impressions of love ; and if such 
principles and affections were to direct the future intercourses of 
nations, we might expect, ere long, to behold the commencement 
of thai happy era, when M the wilderness and solitary place shall 
be glad, when nation shall no longer lift up sword against nation, 
when righteousness and praise shall spring forth before all the 
nations, and when there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy" 
among all the families of the earth. 

V. — A general diffusion of knowledge would be one general 
mean of promoting union in the Christian Church. 

It is a lamentable fact, that throughout the whole world, there 
is no system of religion the votaries of which are subdivided into so 
many sectaries as those who profess an adherence to the Christian 
faith. Within the limits of Great Britain there are perhaps not much 
fewer than a hundred different denominations of Christians belong- 
ing to the Protestant church. We have Calvinists, Arminians, 
Baxterians, Antinomians, Arians, and Unitarians, Episcopalians, 
Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Independents, — Seced- 
ers, Brownists, Sandemanians, Quakers, Moravians, Swedenbor- 
gians, Millenarians, Sabbatarians, Universalists, Sublapsarians, 
Supralapsarians, Dunkers, Kilhamites, Shakers, &c. Of some of 
these there are several subdivisions. Thus, there are three or four 
denominations of Seccders, four or five of Baptists, three or four 
of Methodists, and two or three of Glassites or Sandemanians. 
Most of these denominations recognise the leading truths of 
divine revelation, — the natural and moral attributes of the Deity, — 
the tall of man, — the necessity of a Saviour, — the incarnation of 
Christ, — the indispensable duty of faith in him for the remission 
of sins, — the necessity of regeneration, and of holiness in princi- 
ple and practice, — the obligation of the moral law, — the doctrine 
of a resurrection from the dead, and of a future state of rewards 
and punishments, — in short, every thing by which Christianity is 
distinguished from Mohammedanism, pagan idolatry, and all the 
other systems of religion that prevail in the world. Yet, while 
agreeing in the leading doctrines of the Christian faith, they con- 
tinue in ;i state of separation from each other, as if they had no 
common bond of union, and, as rival sects, arc too frequently in 
a state of alienation, and even of open hostility. The points in 
which they differ are frequently so minute as to be incapable of 
being accurately defined, or rendered palpable to an impartial 
inquirer Where the difference is most apparent, it consists 
chiefly in a diversity of opinion respecting such questions as the 
following : — Whether the election of man to eternal life be abso- 



EVILS ARISING FROM DISUNION". 287 

Sectarianism productive of many Evils. 



lute or conditional, — whether Christ died for the sins of the whole 
world, or only for a limited number, — whether there be a grada- 
tion or an equality among the ministers of the Christian church, — 
whether every particular society of Christians has power to regu- 
late its own affairs, or ought to be in subjection to higher courts 
of judicature, — whether the ordinance of the Lord's Supper should 
be received in the posture of sitting or of kneeling, — whether 
baptism should be administered to infants or adults, or be per- 
formed by dipping or sprinkling, &c. Such are some of the 
points of dispute which have torn the Christian church into a 
number of shreds, and produced among the different sectaries 
mutual jealousies, recriminations, and contentions. When we 
consider the number and the importance of the leading facts and 
doctrines in which they all agree, it appears somewhat strange, 
and even absurd, that they should stand aloof from each other, and 

| even assume a hostile attitude, on account of such comparatively 
trivial differences of opinion, especially when they all profess to 

| be promoting the same grand object, travelling to the same hea- 
venly country, and expect, ere long, to sit down in harmony in the 
mansions above. The grand principles of human action, which 
it is the chief object of Revelation to establish, and the precepts 
of morality, which ought to govern the affections and conduct of 
every Christian, are recognised by all ; and why then should they 
separate from each other, and remain at variance on account of 
matters of " doubtful disputation V 

The evils which flow from such a divided state of Christian 
society are numerous, and much to be deplored. A sectarian 
spirit has burst asunder the bonds of Christian love, and prevented 
that harmonious and affectionate intercourse among Christians 
which is one of the chief enjoyments of social religion. It has 
infused jealousies, fanned the flame of animosity and discord, set 
friends, brethren, and families at variance, and shattered even 
civil communities into factions and parties. It has kindled con- 
tentions and heart-burnings, produced envyings, animosities, and 
hatred of brethren, burst asunder the strongest ties of natural 
affection, and has led professed Christians to violate the plainest 
dictates of humanity and of natural justice. It has excited a 
feverish zeal for the peculiarities of a sectary, while the distinguish- 
ing features of Christianity have either been overlooked or tram- 
pled under foot. It has wasted money unnecessarily in erecting 
separate places of worship, which might have been devoted to 
the promotion of the interests of our common Christianity. It 
has even corrupted our very prayers, infused into them human 
passions, and a spirit of party, and confined them to the narrow 



28S OR THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Progress of Christianity retarded. 



limits ofoui own sectary, as if the Omnipotent, whom we profess 
to adore, were biassed by the same prejudices as ourselves, and 
dispensed his favours according to our contracted views. Could 
we fly with the swiftness of an angelic messenger through the 
various assemblies convened on the Christian Sabbath, while they 
are offering up their prayers to heaven, what a repulsive and dis- 
cordant scene would present itself, when we beheld the leaders 
of certain sectaries confining their petitions to their own votaries, 
imploring a special blessing upon themselves, as if they were the 
chief favourites of heaven, lamenting the errors of others, throwing 
out innuendoes against rival sectaries, taking credit to themselves 
as the chief depositories of gospel truth, and thanking God for 
their superior attainments in Christian perfection ! How unlike 
the noble, benevolent, and expansive spirit which Christianity 
inculcates ! — Nay, the intolerance which the divisions of the 
Christian church have engendered has established Inquisitions 
for the purpose of torturing and burning supposed heretics, — has 
banished, imprisoned, plundered, hanged, and committed to the 
flames, thousands and ten thousands, on account of their religious 
opinions; and many eminent characters, illustrious for piety and 
virtue, have fallen victims to such unchristian barbarities. 

In particular, the divisions and contentions of Christians have 
been one of the chief causes of the progi^ess of infidelity. The 
truth and excellence of our religion can only be exhibited to the 
world by its effects. And when, instead of love, union, and har- 
mony among its professors, we behold bitter envyings, schisms, 
contentions, and animosities, there appears nothing to allure 
vicious and unthinking minds to examine its evidences, and to 
give it an impartial hearing, " First agree among yourselves," 
infidels reply, " and then we will consider the truth and impor- 
tance of your opinions. " Such a mode of reasoning and conduct 
is indeed both absurd and unfair, when the genuine doctrines and 
requisitions of Christianity are clearly stated in its original re- 

. and which they ought to examine for themselves ; but it is 
a circumstance much to be deplored, that Christians, by their 

riaii animosities, should throw a stumbling-block in the way 
of rational investigation into the truths and foundations of religion, 
and < Is to stumble and fall to their destruction. 

But what is perhaps worst of all, it has greatly retarded, and still 
retard-, the universal propagation of Christianity through the 
world. Something has indeed been effected, of late years, by 
various sections of the Christian church, in the different mission- 
ary enterprises which have been conducted, in their separate 
capacities ; but it is not too much to affirm, that, had they acted 



EVILS OF SECTARIANISM. 289 

Sectarianism unattended with any beneficial Consequence 

in combination and in harmony, in the missionary cause, ten times 
more good would have been effected than has ever yet been ac- 
complished. Besides, in our present mode of propagating the 
gospel among the heathen, we are, to a certain extent, sowing 
the seeds of those unhappy dissensions which have so long pre- 
vailed among ourselves. And, therefore, till the different religious 
denominations in this and other Christian lands be brought to a 
more general and harmonious union, we cannot expect to behold 
a rapid and extensive propagation of primitive Christianity 
throughout the pagan world. 

Such are some of the evils which a sectarian spirit has pro- 
duced in the Christian Church. It is almost needless to say that 
they do not originate in the genius of the gospel, which is directly 
opposed to such a spirit, but in the corruption of human nature, 
and the perversion of true religion. They have their rise in 
ignorance, — in ignorance both of the revelations of the Bible, 
considered as one whole, and of those truths of history, philoso- 
phy, and general science, which have a tendency to liberalize and 
to enlarge the capacity of the human mind. This ignorance 
naturally leads to self-conceit, and an obstinate attachment to pre- 
conceived opinions and party prejudices, to attaching an undue 
importance to certain subordinate and favourite opinions, and 
overlooking the grand essentials of the Christian scheme ; and 
thus prevents the mind from expanding its views, and taking a 
luminous and comprehensive survey of the general bearings and 
distinguishing features of the religion of the Bible. And if such 
numerous and serious evils have followed from the divisions of 
Christians, it becomes an important inquiry, whether they have 
ever been productive of advantages sufficient to counterbalance 
such pernicious effects. Is an obscure question, in relation to 
church government, to be set in competition with Christian union ? 
Is a metaphysical opinion about the sovereignty of God, and his 
counsels during eternity past, to be obstinately maintained, 
although the strongest bonds of Christian love should thereby be 
burst asunder 1 Is the rigid adherence to an opinion respecting 
dipping or sprinkling in baptism, or the maintenance of a dogma 
in reference to the extent of Christ's redemption, under pretence 
of bearing testimony in behalf of divine truth, to be considered 
as sufficient to counterbalance the numerous evils which have 
flowed from a sectarian spirit? Can we suppose, that He whose 
I law is /ore, who has commanded us to " keep the unity of the 
• Spirit in the bond of peace," and who hath declared, again and 
again, in the most explicit terms, " By this shall all men know 
that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another ;" are we to sup- 
25 



' 



200 OS THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Inconsistency ofmanj Sectaries. 



thai lit will consider the maintenance of such opinions, under 
such pretences, as a warrant for the infringement of tne law of 
charity, or the breach of Christian union, or that lie sets a higher 
value on intellectual subtleties and speculative opinions, than on 
tlie practical requisitions of his word, and the manifestations of 
Christian temper and conduct? To answer these questions in 
the affirmative would be little short of offering an insult to the 
King of Zion. "Whatever is not so clearly revealed in Scripture 
that every rational and serious inquirer does not plainly perceive 
it to be truth or duty, can scarcely be supposed to be of such im- 
portance as to warrant the breach of the unity of the church. For 
the inspired writers, who were the vehicles of a revelation from 
heaven, can never be supposed to have used vague or ambiguous 
language in explaining and enforcing matters of the first impor- 
tance. 

If we consider the temper and conduct of many of those who 
are sticklers upon phrases, and zealous about matters of mere 
form, we shall be convinced how few beneficial practical effects 
are the result of a narrow sectarian spirit. While they appear 
fired with a holy zeal lest the purity of divine ordinances should 
be tainted by unwashen hands, you will sometimes find them im- 
mersed in the grossest sensualities and immoralities of conduct. 
While they are severe sticklers for what they conceive to be the 
primitive form and order of a Christian church, you will not un- 
frequently find disorder reigning in their families, the instruction 
of their children and servants neglected, and a sour and boister- 
ous spirit manifested in all their intercourses with their domestics. 
Yea, you will find, in numerous instances, that they scruple not 
to practice frauds in the course of their business, and that you 
can have less dependence on their promises than on those of the 
men of the world, who make no pretences to religion. As an 
excellent writer has well observed, " An ardent temperament con- 
verts the enthusiast into a zealot, who, while he is laborious in 
Winning proselytes, discharges common duties very remissly, and 
is found to be a more punctilious observer of his creed than of his 
word. Or, it' his imagination is fertile, he becomes a visionary, 
who lives on better terms with angels and with seraphs, than with 
his childn a, servants, and neighbours ; or, he is one, who, while 
he reverences the ' thrones, dominions, and powers' of the invisi- 
ble world, vents his spleen in railing on all * dignities and powers 
on earth.' " * 

What are the remedies, then, which may be applied for healing 



Natural Hist, of Enthusiasm, p. 14. 



REMEDIES FOR SECTARIANISM. 291 

Cultivation of Christian Affection. 



the unhappy divisions which have arisen in the Christian church ? 
It is evident, in the first place, that we must discard the greater 
part of those human systems of Divinity, and those polemical 
writings and controversies, which have fanned the flame of ani- 
mositv, and which have so frequently been substituted in the room 
of the oracles of God. We must revert to the Scriptures as the 
sole standard of every religious opinion, and fix our attention 
chieflv on those matters of paramount importance which are 
clearlv revealed, which are obvious to every attentive reader, and 
which enter into the essence of the Christian system. For, to 
maintain that the Scriptures are not sufficiently clear and explicit 
in regard to every thing that has a bearing on the present com- 
fort and the everlasting happiness of mankind, is nothing short of 
a libel on the character of the sacred writers, and an indignity 
offered to Him by whose spirit they were inspired. We must 
also endeavour to discard the " vain janglings," the sophistical 
reasonings, and the metaphysical refinements of the schools, and 
the technical terms of polemical theology, such as trinity, hypo- 
statical union, sacraments, &c, and, in our discussions, especially 
on mvsterious or doubtful subjects, adhere as nearly as possible 
to the language of the inspired writers. In particular, more atten- 
tion ought to be paid to the manifestation of Christian love, and 
the practice of religion, than to a mere coincidence of view with 
regard to certain theological dogmas. For it is easy to conceive, 
that a man may be animated by holy principles and dispositions, 
although he may have an obscure conception, or may even enter- 
tain an erroneous opinion, of some of the doctrines of religion ; 
and we know by experience, that men may contend zealously 
for what are considered orthodox doctrines, and yet be destitute of 
the spirit of religion, and trample on its most important practical 
requirements. And were the spirit of our holy religion thoroughly 
to pervade the different sections of the church — were Christian 
affection more generally manifested among all who bear the Chris- 
tian name, and the practical injunctions of Christianity uniformly 
exemplified in their conduct, we should soon behold a general 
coincidence of opinion on every thing that can be deemed import- 
ant in religion, and a mutual candour and forbearance, in regard 
to all subordinate opinions, that do not enter into the essence of 
religion, and which ought to be left to the private judgment of 
every inquirer. 

But I entertain little hope that such measures will be adopted, 
and an object so desirable accomplished, while so much ignorance 
still pervades the minds of the majority of Christians, and while 
the range of their intellectual views is so much contracted. It is 



292 OS THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Comparison of Ignorance and Knowledge. 



only when the effects of a general diffusion of knowledge shall be 
more extensively felt, thai a more general and cordial union of 
the Christian world is to be expected. Light in the understand- 
ing is the source of all reformations, the detecter of all evils and 
■buses, the corrector of all errors and misconceptions, and the 
stimulus to every improvement It dispels the mists which pre- 
vented our distinct vision of the objects of our contemplation, dis- 
covers the stumbling-blocks over which we had fallen, points out 
the devious ways into which we had wandered, and presents before 
US every object in its just magnitude and proportions. The 
knowledge to which I allude consists, in the first place, in a clear 
and comprehensive view of the whole system of divine revela- 
tion, in all its connexions and bearings, — and, in the next place, 
in an acquaintance with all those historical, geographical, and 
scientific facts which have a tendency to expand the capacity of 
the mind, and to enlarge our conceptions of the attributes of 
God, and of the ways of his providence. Wherever the mind is 
thoroughly enlightened in the knowledge of such subjects, the ten- 
dency to bigotry and sectarianism will quickly be destroyed, and 
the partition walls which now separate the different sections of 
the church will gradually be undermined and crumble into dust. 
This might be illustrated from the very nature of the thing. A 
man whose mind is shrouded in comparative ignorance is like a 
person who lands on an unknown country in the dusk of the even- 
ing, and forms his opinion of its scenery and inhabitants from the 
Obscure and limited view he is obliged to take of them during the 
course of a few hours, — while he whose mind is enlightened in 
every department of human and divine knowledge, is like one 
who has taken a minute and comprehensive survey of the same 
country, traversed its length and breadth, mingled with every class 
of its inhabitants, visited its cities, towns, and villages, and studied 
its arts and sciences, its laws, customs, and antiquities. The one 
can form but a very imperfect and inaccurate conception of the 
country he has visited, and could convey only a similar concep- 
tion to others, — the other has acquired a correct idea of the scene 
he has surveyed, and can form an accurate judgment of the 
nature, the tendency, and bearings of the laws, institutions, and 
political economy which have been the subject of his investiga- 
tions. So that the accounts given by these two visiters, of the 
same country, behooved to be materially different. The sectarian 
bigol is one who has taken a partial and limited view of one or 
two departments of the field of revelation, who fixes his attention 
on i few <>t* its minute objects, and who overlooks the sublimity 
and the grand bearings of its more magnificent scenery. The 






REMEDIES FOR SECTARIANISM. 293 

Comparison of Ignorance and Knowledge. 

man of knowledge explores it throughout its length and breadth, 
fixes his eye upon its distinguishing features, and brings all the 
information he has acquired from other quarters to assist his con- 
ceptions of the nature, the bearings, and relations of the multifa- 
rious objects presented to his view. The luminous views he has 
taken of the leading objects and design of revelation, and the ex- 
pansive conceptions he has acquired of the perfections of Him by 
whom it was imparted, will never suffer him to believe that it is 
agreeable to the will of God that a Christian society should be 
rent asunder in the spirit of animosity, because one party main- 
tains, for example, that dipping is the true mode of performing 
baptism, and the other, that it should be administered by sprin- 
kling, while they both recognize it as a divine ordinance, and sym- 
bolical of spiritual blessings, — or that such conduct can have a 
tendency to promote the glory of God, and the best interests of 
men. He can never believe that that incomprehensible Being 
who inhabiteth eternity, who superintends the affairs of ten 
thousand worlds, and who hath exhibited in his word the way to 
eternal life in the clearest light, — should attach so great a degree 
of importance to such questions, that either the one party or the 
other should be considered as exclusive supporters of divine truth, 
while they infringe the law of Christian love, and forbear " to keep 
the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." For, in reference 
to the example now stated, a few drops of water are equally a sym- 
bol or emblem as the mass of liquid in a mighty river ; and to con- 
sider the Almighty as beholding with approbation such specula- 
tions, and their consequent effects, would be but little short of 
affixing a libel on his moral character. The man of knowledge 
is disposed to view in the same light almost all the minute ques- 
tions and circumstantial opinions, which have been the cause of 
separating the church' of Christ into its numerous compartments. 
If we attend to facts, we shall find, that in ninety-nine cases 
out of a hundred, the man who is a violent party partisan is one 
whose ideas run in one narrow track, and who has taken a very 
limited and partial survey of the great objects of religion. He 
is generally unacquainted with the range of history, the facts of 
science, the philosophy of nature, and the physical and moral state 
of distant nations. His mind never ranges over the globe, nor 
contemplates the remote wonders of the Creator's empire. His 
reading is chiefly confined to the volumes and pamphlets publish- 
ed by the partisans of his own sect; he can run over the scrip- 
jtures and arguments which support his opinions, like a racer in 
his course, but, if you break in upon his train of thought, and re- 
quire him to prove his positions as he goes along, he is at a stand, 
2b* 



I 



204 OH THE GENERAL DIFFUSION of knowledge, 



Tendency of Knowledge to Christian Union. 

and knows not how to proceed. While he magnifies, with ami- 
croscopic eye, the importance of his own peculiar views, he almost 
overlooks the grand and distinguishing truths of the Bible, in 
which all true Christians are agreed. On the other hand, there is 
scarcely one instance out of a hundred, of men whose minds are 
thoroughly imbued with the truths of science and revelations being 
the violent abetters of sectarian opinions, or indulging in party 
animosities ; for, knowledge and liberality of sentiments almost 
uniformly go hand in hand. While we ought to recognise and 
appreciate every portion of divine truth, in so far as we perceive its 
evidence, — it is nevertheless the dictate of an enlightened under- 
standing, that those truths which are of the first importance demand 
our first and chief attention. Every controversy agitated among 
Christians on subjects of inferior importance, has a direct tendency 
to withdraw the attention from the great objects which distinguish 
the revelations of the Bible ; and there cannot be a more absurd 
or fatal delusion, than to acquire correct notions on matters com- 
paratively unimportant, while we throw into the shade, or but 
faintly apprehend, those truths which are essential to religion, 
and of everlasting moment. Every enlightened Christian per- 
ceives the truth and importance of this position ; and were it to 
be universally acted upon, sectarian divisions and contentions 
would soon cease to exist ; for they have almost uniformly taken 
place in consequence of attaching too great a degree of impor- 
tance to matters of inferior moment. 

Were the minds of the members of the Christian church, there- 
fore, thoroughly enlightened, and imbued with the moral princi- 
ples of the religion of Jesus, we should soon behold, among all 
denominations, a tendency to union, on the broad basis of recog- 
nising the grand essential truths of Christianity, which formed the 
principal subjects of discussion in the sermons of our Saviour 
and his apostles — and a spirit of forbearance manifested in re- 
gard to all opinions on matters of inferior importance. Were this 
period arrived — and, from the signs of our times, its approach 
cannot be very distant — it would be attended with a train of the 
most glorious and auspicious effects. A merging of party differ- 
ences, and a consequent union of enlightened Christians, would 
dissipate that spirit of trifling in religion by which so much time 
has been absorbed in discussing sectarian opinions, to the neglect 
of the great objects of the Christian faith ; for when trivial contro- 
versies are quashed, the time and attention they absorbed would 
be devoted to more sublime and important investigations. It 
would have a powerful influence on the propagation of Christian- 
ity throughout the heathen world ; for the whole Christian world 



BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHRISTIAN UNION. 295 



Effects upon the Catholics and the Jews. 



would then become one grand missionary society, whose opera- 
tions would be conducted with more efficiency and skill, whose 
funds would be much more ample, and whose missionaries would 
be better educated, than they now are — and those sectarian differ- 
ences of opinion, which now produce so many unhappy dissen- 
sions, for ever prevented from disturbing the harmony of converts 
in distant lands. It would cherish the principle of Christian 
love, detach it from every unholy jealousy, and render it more ar- 
dent and expansive in its philanthropic operations. It would pro- 
duce a powerful and beneficial influence upon the men of the world, 
and even upon infidels themselves ; it would snatch from them 
one of their most powerful arguments against the religion of the 
Bible, and would allure them to the investigation of its evidences, 
by the exhibition it gave of its harmonious and happy effects. It 
would have an influence on the minds of the Roman Catholics, 
in leading them to an unbiassed inquiry into the grounds on which 
the Protestant church is established. At present, when called' 
upon to examine the doctrines of Protestanism, they retort upoji 
us — " You are divided into a hundred different sectaries, and are 
at variance among yourselves ; show us which of these sects is 
in possession of the truth, and we will then examine your pre- 
tensions, and perhaps come over to your standard." It would 
have an influence on the Jewish people, in removing their preju- 
dices against the religion of Jesus of Nazareth, especially were 
it followed, as it likely would be, with a repeal of all those statutes 
which have imposed upon them disabilities, deprived them of the 
rights of citizenship, and subjected them to unchristian severities. 
In short — in connexion with the general manifestation of Chris- 
tian principle — it would produce a benign influence on surround- 
ing nations, and on the world at large. For a body of Chris- 
tians, in such a country as ours, formed into one grand associa- 
tion, and acting in harmony, must exert a powerful influence on 
the councils of the nation ; and our political intercourses with 
other states, being conducted on the basis of Christian principles 
and laws, would invite their attention to a religion productive of so 
much harmony and so many beneficial effects. Peace and unity 
in the church would have a tendency to promote peace and friend- 
ship among nations ; the cause of universal education would be 
promoted, without those obstructions which now arise from sec- 
tarian prejudices ; and a general diffusion of useful knowledge 
would soon be effected throughout every quarter of the civilized 
world, till the knowledge of Jehovah should cover the earth as the 
waters cover the channels of the seas. 

The disunion of the Christian Church is not to be perpetual. 



29G ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



The pre enl A re auspicious to Union. 



We are c< rtain, dial a period is hastening on when its divisions 
shall be healed, when its boundaries shall be enlarged, and when 
of Jehovah shall be our throughout all the earth." At 
some pi riod or other, therefore, in the lapse of time, a movement 
towards such a union must commence. \t cannot take place be- 
for< the attention of the religious world is directed to this object 
And why should not such a movement commence at the present 
moment I Why should we lose another year, or even another 
month, before we attempt to concert measures, in order to bring 
about a consummation so devoutly to be wished? The present 
eventful period is peculiarly auspicious for this purpose ; when 
the foundations of tyranny, injustice, and error are beginning to 
be shaken; when knowledge is making progress among every 
order of society ; when reforms in the state, and in every subor- 
dinate department of the community, are loudly demanded by 
persons of every character and of every rank ; when the evils at- 
tached to our ecclesiastical institutions are publicly denounced ; 
when the Scriptures are translating into the languages of every 
tribe ; and when missionary enterprises are carrying forward in 
every quarter of the habitable globe. To attempt a union of all 
true Christians at the present crisis, would, therefore, be nothing 
more than falling in with the spirit of the age, and acting in harmo- 
ny with those multifarious movements which are destined to be 
the means of enlightening and renovating the human race ; and 
at no period since the Reformation could such an attempt have 
! made with more sanguine expectations, and greater pros- 
pects of success. All eyes are now turned towards some event- 
ful and auspicious era, when the light of science shall shine reful- 
gent, when abuses shall be corrected, evils remedied, society 
meliorated, and its various ranks brought into more harmonious 
:iafion. And shall Christians alone remain shut up in their 
little homesteads, apart from each other, stickling about phrases, 
and conl Hiding about forms, without ever coming forth to salute 
each Other in the spirit of union, and to give an impulse to the 
moral machinery that is hastening forward the world's improve- 
ment and regeneration? Such a surmise cannot be indulged : it 
would be a libel on the Christian world, and a reproach on the reli- 
gion of which they profess themselves the votaries. I trust there 
are thousands in every department of the Church who are ardently 
longing to break down the walls of partition which separate them 
from their brethren, and anxiously wailing for an opportunity of 
expressing their sentiments, and of giving the right hand of fellow- 
ship M tO all who love our Lord Jesus in sincerity." 

in any attempts that may be made to promote this great object, 



BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF UNION. 297 

Folly of Disunion. 

muiual concessions behoove to be made by all parties. One gene- 
ral principle, that requires to be recognised, is this : — that every 
opinion and practice be set aside which is acknowledged on all 
hands to have no direct foundation in Scripture, but is a mere hu- 
man fabrication, introduced by accident or whim ; such as the 
observance of fast and preparation days previous to the participa- 
tion of the Lord's Supper, kneeling in the act of partaking of 
that ordinance, repeating the Athanasian Creed in the regular 
services of the church, &c. &c. It is a striking and remarkable 
fact, that the chief points about which Christians are divided are 
points on which the volume of inspiration is silent, and which 
the presumption and perversity of men have attached to the 
Christian system, and interwoven with the truths and ordinances 
of religion ; and, therefore, were the line of distinction clearly 
drawn between mere human opinions and ceremonials, and the 
positive dictates of revelation, and the one separated from the 
other, the way would be prepared for a more intimate and har- 
monious union in the Church of Christ. As a preparative mea- 
sure to such a union, a friendly intercourse between the different 
sectaries* should be solicited and cherished. Enlightened minis- 
ters of different denominations should occasionally exchange pul- 
pits, and officiate for each other in the public exercises of divine 
worship. This would tend to show to the world, and to each other, 
that there is no unholy jealousy or hostile animosity subsisting 
between them, which their present conduct and attitude too fre- 
quently indicate. It would also be productive of many conve- 
niences, in the case of a minister being indisposed, or absent 
from home, as his place could frequently be supplied, without the 
least expense or inconvenience, by his brethren of other deno- 
minations. It would likewise show to the mass of professing 
Christians, that the doctrines promulgated, and the duties en- 
forced, by ministers of different denominations, are substantially 
the same. What a disgrace to the Christian name, that such a 
friendly intercourse has never yet been established ; or, when it 
occasionally happens, that it should be considered as an extraor- 
dinary and unlooked-for phenomenon ! - What a strange and un- 
expected report must be received by Christian converts in heathen 
lands, when they are told that Christian ministers in this country, 
w r ho were instrumental in sending missionaries to communicate 
to them the knowledge of salvation, are actuated by so much jea- 

* By sectaries, in this place, and elsewhere, I understand, not only the dif- 
ferent denominations of Dissenters, but the Church of England, the Church of 
Scotland, and all other national churches, which are all so many sectaries, or 
different compartments of the universal Christian church. 



I 



29^ ON TIIK GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Friendly Intercourse of Sectaries. 



lousy, and stand bo much aloof from each other, that even at the 
\rr\ time they are planning missionary enterprises, they will re- 
fuse their pulpits to each other, for the purpose of addressing 
their fellow-men on subjects connected with their everlasting in- 

ts, and refrain from joining in unison in the ordinances of 
religion, although many of them expect, erelong, to join in har- 
mony in the services of the sanctuary above ! It is to be hoped, 
that Buch a disgrace to the Christian cause will soon be wiped 
away, and its inconsistency clearly perceived by all who are in- 
t< 1 ',t and kk right-heaiied men." 

Such a friendly intercourse and correspondence as now sug- 
gested w«»uld be far more efficient in preparing the way for a cor- 
dial union of Christians, than the deliberations and discussions of j 
a thousand doctors of divinity, delegated to meet in councils to 
settle the points in dispute between the different sectaries. This 
object, I presume, will never be accomplished by theological con- 
trovt rsy, or by any attempt to convince the respective parties of 
the futility or erroneousness of their peculiar opinions ; but, on 
the ground of their being brought nearer to each other, and more 
firmly united in the mutual exercise of the Christian virtues, and 
in the bonds of Christian affection. And when such a harmo- 
nious intercourse shall be fully effected, it will form a more glo- 
ri nis and auspicious era in the history of the Christian church, 
than has ever occurred since the " good tidings of great joy" 
were proclaimed in the plains of Bethlehem, or since the day of 
Pentecost, when " the whole multitude of them that believed were 
of one heart, and of one soul, and had all things common."* 



SECTION XL 

On the Importance of connecting Science with Religion. 

In m wen 1 ofthe preceding sections, I have exhibited sketches 
of the outlines of some of the branches of pcience, and of the 
ohjeet< towards which it- investigations are directed. I have all 
aJoiiir taken it for granted that such knowledge and investigations 
OUght to he con;!. iik d with just views of religion, and an atten- 
tion to its practical acquirements, and have occasionally inter- 
. some remarks on this topic. But as the subject is of 
1 1 culi ir importance, ii may not he inexpedient to devote a section 
ore particular i lucidation. 

* . • ndix, rs'oic XI. 



CONNEXION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION. 299 



Diffusion of Knowledge among the lower Classes. 



Of late years, knowledge has increased, among the middle and 
lower ranks of society, with greater rapidity than in any preceding 
age, and Mechanics' Institutions, and other associations, have 
been formed, to give an impulse to the renewed vigour of the hu- 
man mind, and to gratify the Sesires which are now excited for 
intellectual pleasures and acquirements. Reason is arousing 
from the slumber of ages, and appears determined to make ag- 
gressions on the world of science, and to employ its faculties on 
every object which comes within the range of human investiga- 
tion. The labourer, the mechanic, and artisan, — no longer con- 
fined to trudge in the same beaten track in their respective pro- 
fessions, and to the limited range of thought which distinguished 
their predecessors in former generations — aspire after a know- 
ledge of the principles on which their respective arts are founded, 
and an acquaintance with those scientific subjects which were 
formerly confined to the cloisters of colleges and the higher orders 
of society. Lectures have been delivered in most of our towns, 
( and even villages, on the practice of the arts and the principles 
of the physical sciences, which, have extended their intellectual 
views, and given them a higher idea of the nobleness and subli- 
mity of the mental faculties with which they are endowed. This 
excitement to rational inquiry has partly arisen from the spirit of 
the age, and the political movements which have distinguished 
our times ; but it has also been produced by the exertions of men 
of erudition, in concerting plans for the diffusion of knowledge, 
in giving a popular form to works of science, and divesting it of 
that air of mystery which it formerly assumed. And should such 
excitement be properly directed, it cannot fail to raise the lower 
ranks of the community from intellectual degradation, and to 
prevent them from indulging in intemperance and other sensual 
vices, which have so long debased our rational nature. At no 
former period has the spirit of science been so fully awakened, 
and so generally disseminated. On every side the boundaries of 
knowledge have been extended, the system of nature explored, 
the labours of philosophy withdrawn from hypothetical specula- 
tions to the investigation of facts, and the liberal and mechanical 
arts carried to a pitch of perfection hitherto unattained. 

But amid all the intellectual movements around us, it is matter 
of deep regret that the knowledge of true religion, and the prac- 
tice of its moral precepts, have not kept pace with the improve- 
ments and the diffusion of science. Not a few of those who 
jhave lately entered on the prosecution of scientific pursuits, — be- 
cause their ideas have been expanded a little beyond the limited 
range of thought to which they were formerly confined — seem 



300 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 

Tendency to Irreligion in Education. 



now to regard revealed religion as little else than a vulgar super- 
stition, or, at most, as a matter of inferior moment. Because 
their forefathers thought that the earth was the largest body in 
nature, and placed in a quiescent state in the centre of the uni- 
verse, and that the stars were merely brilliant spangles fixed in 
the concave of the sky, to diversify the firmament — which no- 
tions are now proved to be erroneous — therefore they are apt to 
surmise that the religion they professed rested on no better a 
foundation. Because their notions of that religion were blended 
with erroneous opinions and foolish superstitions, they would be 
disposed to throw aside the whole, as unworthy of the attention of 
men of enlightened understandings, whose minds have been 
emancipated from the shackles of vulgar prejudice and priestly 
domination. Such irreligious propensities have their origin, for 
the most part, in a principle of vanity and self-conceit, in that spi- 
rit of pride congenial to human nature, which leads the person in 
whom it predominates to vaunt; himself on his superiority to vulgar 
opinions and fears — and in the want of discriminating between 
what is of essential importance in religion, and the false and dis- 
torted notions which have been incorporated with it by the igno- 
rance and perversity of men. 

This tendency to irreligion has likewise been promoted by the 
modes in which scientific knowledge has been generally commu- 
nicated. In the greater part of the best elementary treatises on 
science, there seldom occurs any distinct reference to the perfec- 
tions and the agency of that Omnipotent Being under whose 
superintendence all the processes of nature are conducted. In- 
stead of directing the young and untutored mind to rise "from 
nature up to nature's God" — it is considered by many as unphi- 
losophical, when explaining natural phenomena, to advert to any 
but proximate causes, which reason or the senses can ascertain ; 
and thus a veil is attempted to be drawn between the Deity and 
his visible operations, so as to conceal the agency of Him whose 
laws hi aven and earth obey. In the academical prelections on 
physical science, in most of our colleges and universities, there 
appears a studied anxiety to avoid every reflection that wears the 
semblance of religion. From the first announcement of the pro- 
perties of matter and the laws of motion, through all their com- 
binations in the system of nature, and their applications to dyna- 
mics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, optics, electricity, and magnetism, 
the attention of the student is kept constantly fixed on secondary 
causes and physical laws, as if the universe were a self-existent 
and independent piece of mechanism ; and it is seldom that the 
least reference is made to that Almighty Being who brought it 



FOLLY OF OVERLOOKING RELIGION. 301 

Mechanics 1 Institutions. 

into existence, and whose laws and operations are the subject of 
investigation. It is almost needless to add, that the harmony 
which subsists between the works of God and the revelations of 
his word — the mutual light which they reflect upon each other — 
the views which they open of the plan of the divine government 
— and the moral effects which the contemplation of nature ought 
to produce upon the heart — are never, so far as we have learned, 
introduced, in such seminaries, as subjects which demand particu- 
lar attention. Thus the Deity is carefully kept out of view, and 
banished, as it were, from his own creation ; and the susceptible 
mind of the youthful student prevented from feeling those impres- 
sions of awe and reverence, of love and gratitude, which the study 
of the material world, when properly conducted, is calculated to 
produce. 

The same principles and defects are perceptible in the instruc- 
tions communicated in most of the Mechanics' Institutions, which 
have been lately formed for the improvement of the middle and 
lower classes of society. It has been publicly announced, in the 
speeches of gentlemen of science and erudition, who, with a laud- 
able zeal, took a part in the organization of these institutions, — 
and the announcement has been re-echoed in every similar asso- 
ciation, and transcribed into every literary journal, — that, "Hence- 
forward the discussions of science are to be completely separated 
from religion." I do not mean to accuse the highly respectable 
characters alluded to as being hostile either to natural or revealed 
religion, from the circumstance of their having made this announce- 
ment ; as I presume they only intended by it to get rid of those 
sectarian disputes about unimportant points in theology which 
have so long disturbed the peace of the church and of the world. 
But when I consider the use that will be made of it by certain 
characters and societies, and the bearing it may have on the mode 
of communicating scientific knowledge, I am constrained to pro- 
nounce the declaration as no less unphilosophical than it is im- 
pious and immoral in its general tendency. It is unphilosophi- 
cal ; for science, when properly considered in relation to its higher 
i and ultimate objects, is nothing else than an investigation of the 
power, wisdom, benevolence, and superintending providence of 
the Almighty, as displayed in the structure and movements of the 
universe, — of the relation in which we stand to this Great Being, 
— and of the duties which we owe him. To overlook such objects 
, is evidently contrary to the plainest dictates of reason and philo- 
i sophy. Is it possible that an intelligent mind can contemplate the 
admirable and astonishing displays of divine perfection and mu- 
nificence, throughout every part of creation, and not be excited 
26 



:>< 2 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



of God i f to Philosophy, 



of love, and gratitude, and reverential adoration? 
i reelings and emotions lie at the foundation pf all true reli- 
gion, — and the man who can walk through the magnificent scene 
of the universe without feeling the least emotion of reverence and 
adoration, or of gratitude for the wise and benevolent arrangements 
of nature may be pronounced unworthy of enjoying the beneii- 
cence o( his Creator. It was donbtless for this end, among 
others, that the Almighty opened to our view such a magnificent 
the universe displays, and bestowed upon us facul- 
ties capable of investigating its structure, — that we might acquire, 
from the contemplation of it, enlarged conceptions of the attributes 
of his nature, and the arrangements of his providence, and be ex- 
cited to "give unto him the glory due to his name." And if we 
derive such impressions from our investigations of the material 
system, shall it be considered as inconsistent with the spirit of 
true philosophy to endeavour to communicate the same impres- 
sions to the minds of those whom we are appointed to instruct ? 
There can be little doubt, that the practice of setting aside all 

rences to the character and perfections of the Deity in physi- 
cal discussions has tended to foster a spirit of irreligion in youth- 
ful minds, and to accelerate their progress towards the gulf of in- 
fidelity and skepticism. 

Again, philosophy, as w r ell as religion, requires that the phe- 
nomena of nature be traced up to their first cause. There are no 
causes cognizable by the senses which will account for the origin 
of the universe, and the multifarious phemonena it exhibits ; and 
therefore we must ascend in our investigations to the existence 
of an invisible and eternal Cause, altogether impalpable to the or- 
gans of sense, in order to account for the existence and move- 
ments of the material world. To attempt to account for the har- 
mony and order, and the nice adaptations which appear through- 
out creation, merely from the physical properties of matter and 

laws of motion, is to act on the principles of atheism; and is 

clearly repugnant to every dictate of reason, which declares, that 

«tv ( Beet we must assign an adequate cause. And if in our 

physical inve itigations we are necessarily led to the admission of 

f-existent and eternal Being, the original source of life and 

JT3 7 D 

motion, it must be deeply interesting to every one of us to ac- 
quire as much information as possible respecting his perfections, 
and the character of his moral government. From Him we de- 
rived our existence, — on Ilim we depend every moment "for 
life, and breath, and all things." Our happiness or misery is in 
his hands, and our eternal destiny, whether connected with anni- 
hilation or with a -late of conscious existence, must be the result 



IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 303 



Christianity set aside. 



of his sovereign and eternal arrangements. Our comfort in the 
present life, and our hopes and prospects in relation to futurity, 
are therefore essentially connected with the conceptions we form 
of the attributes of Him who made and who governs the universe ; 
and, consequently, that philosophy which either overlooks or dis- 
cards such views and considerations is unworthy of the name — 
is inconsistent with the plainest deductions of reason, and wher- 
ever it is promulgated must prove inimical to the best interests of 
mankind. To regard science merely in its applications to the arts 
of life, and to overlook its deductions in reference to the Supreme 
Disposer of events, is preposterous and absurd, and unworthy of 
the character of the man who assumes to himself the name of a 
philosopher ; for, in doing so, he violates the rules which guide him 
in all his other researches, and acts inconsistently with the maxim, 
that the most interesting and important objects demand our first 
and chief attention. 

But the evil to which I have now adverted is not the only one 
of which we have reason to complain. While the deductions of 
natural religion are but slightly adverted to in physical discus- 
sions, and in many instances altogether overlooked, — the truths 
of Christianity are virtually set aside ; and it seems to be con- 
sidered by some as inconsistent with the dignity of science, to 
make the slio-htest reference to the declarations of the sacred ora- 
cles. In many of our grammar schools, academies, and colleges, 
where the foolish and immoral rites of pagan mythology are often 
detailed, no instructions are imparted to counteract the baneful 
influence which heathen maxims and idolatry may produce on the 
youthful mind. The superior excellence of the Christian reli- 
gion, and the tendency of its principles and precepts to produce 
happiness, both here and hereafter, are seldom exhibited ; and in 
too many instances the recognition of a Supreme Being, and of 
our continual dependence upon him, and the duty of imploring 
his direction and assistance, are set aside, as inconsistent with 
the spirit of the age, and with the mode of conducting a fashion- 
able education. The superintendents of mechanics' institutions, 
following the prevailing mode, have likewise agreed to banish 
from their institutions and discussions all references to religion, 
and to the peculiarities of the Christian system. 

Now, we maintain that Christianity, in every point of view in 
which its revelations may be considered, is a subject of paramount 
importance. It is every thing, or it is nothing. It must reign 
supreme over every human pursuit, over every department of 
science, over every passion and affection, or be discarded alto- 
gether, as to its authority over man. It will admit of no compro- 






I OX THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 
Important Considerations. 



mises ; For the authority with which it professes to be invested is 
nothing less than the will of the Eternal, whose sovereign in- 
junctions the inhabitants of earth and the hosts of heaven are 
bound to obey. If its claims to a divine origin can be disproved, 
then it may be set aside as unworthy of our regard, and ranked 
along with the other religions which have prevailed in the world. 
But, if it is admitted to be a revelation from the Creator of the 
universe to man on earth, its claims are irresistible, it cannot be 
rejected with impunity, and its divine principles and maxims ought 
to be interwoven with all our pursuits and associations. 

The importance of Christianity may be evinced by such consi- 
derations as the following : It communicates to us the only 
certain information we possess of the character, attributes, and 
purposes of the Creator, to whose laws and moral government we 
are all amenable. It discloses to us our state and condition, as 
depraved creatures and violators of his righteous laws, and the 
doom which awaits the finally impenitent in the world to come. 
It informs us of the only method by which w r e may obtain for- 
giveness of sin, and complete deliverance from all the miseries 
and moral evils to wdiich we are exposed. It inculcates those 
divine principles and moral precepts which are calculated to 
unite the whole human race in one harmonious and affectionate 
society, and to promote the happiness of every individual, both in 
tw the life that now is and in that which is to come." It presents 
before us sources of consolation, to cheer and support the mind 
amid the calamities and afflictions to which we are subjected in 
this mortal state. It unfolds to us, in part, the plan of God's 
moral government of the world, and the reasons of certain dis- 
pensations and moral phenomena, which would otherwise have 
remained inexplicable. In short, it proclaims the doctrine of a 
rection from the dead, and sets in the clearest light the cer- 
ofa future state of punishments and rewards, subjects in 
which every individual of the human race is deeply interested — 
giving lull assurance to all who comply with its requisitions, that 
when their corporeal frames are dissolved, they " shall have a 
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens," where they shall inherit " fulness of joy and pleasures 
for evermore." 

These arc only some of the important revelations which Chris- 
tianity unfolds. And, if it be a truth which cannot be denied, 
that, we arc naturally ignorant of God, can we be happy without 
being acquainted with his moral attributes; purposes, and laws? 
lihy and depraved — which the whole history of our 
demonstrates — can we feel true enjoyment, if our 



EFFECTS OF DISCARDING RELIGION. 305 



Separation of Science and Religion. 



guilt is not cancelled, and our depravity not counteracted ? Is it 
a matter of indifference, whether we acquire a knowledge of those 
moral principles which will guide us in the path to wisdom and 
felicity, or be hurried along by heedless passions, in the devious 
ways of vice and folly 1 Is it of no importance, whether we 
obtain information respecting our eternal destiny, or remain in 
uncertainty whether death shall transport us toanother world, or 
finally terminate our existence ? Can any man, who calls him- 
self a philosopher, maintain, with any show of reason, that it is 
unphilosophical, or contrary to the dictates of an enlightened 
understanding, that such subjects should form one great object 
of our attention — that they should be interwoven with all our 
studies and active employments — and that they should constitute 
the basis of all those instructions which are intended for the me- 
lioration and improvement of mankind? To maintain such a 
position would be to degrade philosophy in the eyes of every 
intelligent inquirer, and to render it unworthy of the patronage 
of every one who has a regard to the happiness of his species. 
That philosophy which truly deserves the name will at once 
admit, that concerns of the highest moment ought not to be set 
aside for matters of inferior consideration ; but that every thing 
should be attended to in its proper order, and according to its 
relative importance. If such considerations have any weight, 
they prove, beyond dispute, that there is a glaring deficiency in 
our methods of education, where a foundation is not laid in the 
truths of Christianity, and where its authority is overlooked, and 
its claims disregarded. 

Let us consider for a moment what would be the natural effects 
of a complete separation between science and religion — between 
the general diffusion of knowledge and the great objects of the 
Christian faith. Science might still continue to prosecute dis- 
coveries, to enlarge its boundaries, and to apply its principles to 
the cultivation of new arts, and to the improvement of those 
which have hitherto been practised. Its studies might give a 
certain degree of polish to the mind, might prevent certain cha- 
racters from running the rounds of fashionable dissipation, and in 
every gradation in society might counteract, to a certain degree, 
the tendency to indulgence in those mean and ignoble vices to 
which the lower ranks in every age have been addicted. But 
although the standard of morals would be somewhat raised, and 
the exterior of life polished and improved, the latent principles of 
1 moral evil might still remain rankling in the breast. Pride, 
ambition, avarice, and revenge, receiving no counteraction from 
religious principle, might be secretly harboured and nourished in 
26* 



306 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Renunciation of Revealed Religion. 



the h< art, and ready to hurst forth on every excitement in all the 
diabolical energies in which they have so frequently appeared 
amidst die contests of communities and nations. The recogni- 
tion of a Supreme intelligence, to whom we are accountable, 

would soon he considered as unnecessary in scientific investiga- 
tions, and his natural perfections Overlooked ; and, consequently, 
all the delightful 1 affections of loves gratitude, admiration, and 
reverence, which are inspired by the view of his moral attributes 
and the transcendent excellence of his nature, would be under- 
mined and annihilated. There would be no reliance on the 
superintending care of an unerring Providence, ordaining and 
directing every event to the most beneficial purposes, and no con- 
solation derived, amid the ills of life, from a view of the rectitude 
and benevolence of the Divine government. The present world 
would be considered as the only scene of action and enjoyment [ 
the hope of immortality, which supports and gladdens the pious 
mind, would be exterminated, and every thing beyond the shadow 
of death involved in gloom and uncertainty. The only true prin- 
ciples of moral action, which revealed religion inculcates, being 
overlooked or discarded, every one would consider himself as at 
liberty to act according as his humour and passions might dic- 
tate ; and, in such a case, a scene of selfishness, rapacity, and 
horror, would quickly ensue, which would sap the foundations of 
social order, and banish happiness from the abodes of men. 

Such would be the necessary effects of a complete renuncia- 
tion of revealed religion, and such a state of things our literary 
and scientific mode of education has a natural tendency to pro- 
duce, in so far as the truths of Christianity are set aside, or over- 
looked, in our plans of instruction. Where should our youths 
receive impressions of the Deity, and of the truths of religion, 
unless in those seminaries where they are taught the elements of 
gem ral knowledge ? Shall they be left to infer that religion is a 
matter of trivial importance, from the circumstance that it is com- 
pletely overlooked throughout the whole range of their instruc- 
tion- I It may be said that they have opportunities of receiving 
Christian instruction elsewhere, particularly from the ministers of 
religion J but will their minds be better prepared for relishing such 
instructions because the religion of the Bible has been carefully 
kept out of view in the other departments of tuition? Will they 
not rather come to such instructions with their minds biassed 
against the truths of revelation ; especially when we consider, that 
m almost every instance where religion is discarded in the process 
Qf secular instruction, pagan maxims are introduced, and insinu- 
ations occasionally thrown out hostile to the interests of genuine 



EFFECTS OF DISCARDING RELIGION. 307 



French Revolution. 



Christianity ? Notwithstanding all that I have stated in the pre- 
ceding pages respecting the beneficial effects of a universal diffu- 
sion of knowledge, I am fully persuaded that, unless it be accom- 
panied with a diffusion of the spirit of the Christian religion and 
a corresponding practice, it will completely fail in promoting the 
best interests of mankind. If scriptural views of the character 
of the Deity — if the promotion of love to God and to man — if the 
cultivation of heavenly tempers and dispositions, and the practice 
of Christian morality, be entirely overlooked in seminaries 
devoted to the instruction of the great body of the community — 
such institutions, instead of being a blessing, would ultimately 
become a curse to the human species ; and we should soon behold 
a vast assemblage of intelligent demons furnished with powers 
and instruments of mischief superior to any that have hitherto 
been wielded, and which might ere long produce anarchy, injus- 
tice, and horror, throughout every department of the moral world. 
That these are not mere imaginary forebodings might be illus- 
trated from the scenes which were lately exhibited in a neighbour- 
ing nation. The first revolution in France, in 1789, was a re- 
volution, not merely in politics and government, but in religion, in 
manners, in moral principle, and in the common feelings of human 
nature. The way for such a revolution was prepared by the wri- 
tings of Voltaire, Mirabeau, Diderot, Helvetius, D'Alembert, Con- 
dorcet, Rousseau, and others of the same stamp — in which, along 
with some useful discussions on the subject of civil and religious 
liberty, they endeavoured to disseminate principles subversive both 
of natural and revealed religion. Revelation was not only im- 
pugned, but entirely set aside ; the Deity was banished from the 
universe, and an imaginary phantom, under the name of the God- 
dess of Reason, substituted in his place. Every thing was reduced 
to a system of pure materialism ; the celestial spark of intelligence 
within us was assimilated to a piece of rude matter, and the fair 
prospects of immortality which Christianity presents transformed 
into the gloom of an eternal night. Every previous standard of morals 
was discarded ; every one was left to act as selfishness, avarice, 
and revenge might dictate ; religion of every description fled from 
the torch of the prevailing philosophy ; and while "justice and mo- 
rality" were proclaimed as " the order of the day," every moral- 
principle and every humane feeling was trampled under foot It 
is stated, on good authority, that, a little before the revolution, a 
numerous assembly of French literati being asked, in turn, at one 
of their meetings, by their president, "Whether there was any such 
thing as moral obligation," answered, in every instance, that 
there was not. Soon after that revolution, the great body of French 



308 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Banishment of Christianity. 



infidels, who then ruled the nation, not only denied all the obliga- 
tions which bind us to truth, justice, and kindness, hut pitied and 
despised, as a contemptible wretch, the man who believed in their 
existence. Atheism was publicly preaohed, and its monstrous 

doctrines disseminated among the mass of the people, an occur- 
rence altogether novel in the history of man. A professor was 
even named by Chaumette, to instruct the children of the state 
in the mysteries of Atheism. De la Metherie, the author of a 
philosophical journal, when discussing the doctrine of crystalliza- 
tion, made the wild and hideous assertion, "that the highest and 
most perfect form of crystallization is that which is vulgarly called 
God." In the National Convention, Gobct, archbishop of Paris, 
the rector Yangirard, and several other priests, abjured the 
Christian religion ; and for this abjuration theij received applauses 
and the fraternal kiss. A priest from Melun stated, that there is 
no true religion but that of nature, and that all this mummery with 
which they had hitherto been amused is only old wives' fables ; 
and he was heard with loud applause. The Convention decreed, 
that " all the churches and temples of religious worship known to 
be in Paris should be instantly shut up, and that every person re- 
quiring the opening of a church or temple should be put under 
arrest, as a suspected person, and an enemy to the state." The 
carved work of all religious belief and moral practice was boldly 
cut down by Carnot, Robespierre, and their atheistical associates, 
and the following inscription was ordered to be displayed in all 
the public burying-grounds — " Death is only an eternal sleep ;" 
so that the dying need no longer be afraid to step out of existence. 
ure was investigated by these pretended philosophers only with 
w to darken the mind, to prevent mankind from considering 
any thing as real but what the hand could grasp or the corporeal 
perceive, and to subvert the established order of society. 
The consequences of the operation of such principles were such 
ight have been expected. They are written in characters of 
blood, and in crimes almost unparalleled in the history of nations. 
A scene of inhumanity, cruelty, cold-blooded malignity, daring 
impiety, and insatiable rapacity, was presented to the world, which 
excited in the mind of every virtuous spectator amazement and 
horror. Savage atrocities were perpetrated, which would have 
ing in the most barbarous and unenlightened age; 
and, perhaps, at no era has there been more wretchedness occa- 
sioned by licentious principles and moral degeneracy. The ties 
of friendship were em asunder, the claims of consanguinity disre- 
garded, and a cold-blooded selfishness pervaded the great mass 
of society. a The kingdom appeared to be changed into one 



FRENCH REVOLUTION. 309 



Massacre of Romish Priests. 



great prison ; the inhabitants converted into felons, and the com- 
mon doom of man commuted for the violence of the sword, and 
the bayonet, and the stroke of the guillotine." Such was the ra- 
pidity with which the work of destruction was carried on, that, with- 
in the short space often years, not less than three millions of hu- 
man beings (one-half more than the whole population of Scotland) 
are supposed to have perished in that country alone, chiefly 
through the influence of immoral principles, and the seductions of 
a false philosophy. The following is a brief sketch of some of 
the scenes to which we allude, drawn by one who was an eye-wit- 
ness of the whole, and an actor in several parts of that horrid dra- 
ma. " There were," says this writer, " multiplied cases of sui- 
cide ; prisons crowded with innocent persons ; permanent guillo- 
tines ; perjuries of all classes ; parental authority set at naught ; 
debauchery encouraged by an allowance to those called unmarried 
mothers ; nearly six thousand divorces in the city of Paris within 
| a little more than two years ; in a word, whatever is most obscene 
in vice and most dreadful in ferocity." * 

Notwithstanding the incessant shouts of " Liberty and equal- 
ity," and the boasted illuminations of philosophy, the most barba- 
rous persecutions were carried on against those whose religious 
opinions differed from the system adopted by the state. While 
infidelity was enthroned in power, it wielded the sword of power 
with infernal ferocity against the priests of the Romish church, 
who were butchered wherever found — hunted as wild beasts — 
frequently roasted alive, or drowned in hundreds together, with- 
out either accusation or trial. At Nantz, no less than 360 priests 
were shot, and 460 drowned. In one night, 58 were shut up in 
a barge, and drowned in the Loire. Two hundred and ninety- 
two priests were massacred during the bloody scenes of the 10th 
August and 2d September, 1792 ; and 1135 were guillotined 
under the government of the National Convention, from the 
month of September, 1792, till the end of 1795, besides vast 
numbers, hunted by the infidel republicans, like owls and par- 
tridges, who perished in different ways, throughout the provinces 
of France. 

Such were some of the dismal effects which flowed from the 
attempt to banish religion from science, from government, and 
from the intercourses and employments of society. Were such 
principles universally to prevail, the world would soon become one 
vast theatre of mischief and of misery — an immense den of 
thieves and robbers — a sink of moral pollution — a scene of 

*Gregoire. 



310 DM THB GENERAL niriTSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



I'.'], cts of [rreligion*. 



impiety] injustice, rapine, and devastation ; a Golgotha, strewed 
with carcasses and " dead men's bones." All confidence and 
friendship between intelligent boings would be destroyed; the dear- 
and most venerable relations would be violated by incestuous 
pollutions; appetite would change every man into a swine, and 
sion into a tiger; jealousy, distrust, revenge, murder, war, 
and rapine would overspread the earth, and a picture of hell would 
be presented wherever the eye roamed over the haunts of men. 
During the period when the atrocities to which we are advert- 
ing were perpetrating, the ruffians who bore rule in France were 
continually imputing to the illumination of philosophy the ardour 
which animated them in the cause of liberty ; and it is a truth, 
that science was enlarging its boundaries even amid the horrors 
with which it was surrounded. Chymistry was advancing in its 
rapid career of discovery, and the celebrated Lavoisier, one of its 
most successful cultivators, was interrupted in the midst of some 
interesting experiments, and dragged to the guillotine, where he 
suffered in company with 28 farmers-general, merely because he 
was rich. Physical astronomy and the higher branches of mathe- 
matics were advancing under the investigations of La Place ; 
geodctical operations were carrying forward, on an extensive 
scale ; and the physical sciences, in general, under the hands of 
numerous cultivators, were going on towards perfection. But 
while this circumstance shows that science may advance in the 
midst of irreligion — it proves, at the same time, that, without 
being combined with religion, it cannot, of itself, meliorate the 
morals of mankind, or counteract the licentiousness of society. 
Though it may be considered as a ray of celestial light proceed- 
ing from the original Source of intelligence, yet it will fail in pro- 
ducing its most beneficial effects, unless it be combined with 
" the light of the knowledge of the glory of God," as it shines in 
the word of Divine Revelation. Had such connexion been formed 
between science and religion, certain it is that the bonds which 
unite the social system would never have been burst asunder, 
nor the foundations of morality overturned by such a violent 
explosion as happened at the French revolution. And although 

I am aware that a variety of political causes combined to produce 
that l tnvulsion, and the effects which flowed from it, yet it 
cannot be d< nied, that the principles of atheism, and a false 
philosophy which had thrown off its allegiance to Christianity, 

the chief causes which produced the licentiousness and im- 
pi< ty w Inch chai acterized the rulers and citizens of France, under 

II the r< ign of terror." 

It is therefore to be hoped, that those who now patronise the 



EFFECTS OF IRRELIGION IN FRANCE. 311 



Connexion of Science with Revelation. 



intellectual improvement of mankind, and who wish to promote 
. the best interests of society, will take warning from the occur- 
, rences which so lately happened in the French nation, during 
the reign of infidel philosophy and impiety, and not suffer reli- 
gion to be dissevered from those pursuits which should lead the 
| mind to the contemplation of a Supreme Intelligence, and of the 
glories of an immortal existence. The moral Governor of the 
' world has set before us the horrid scenes to which we have 
alluded, as a beacon to guard us from similar dangers, that 
society might not again be exposed to a shipwreck so dread- 
, ful and appalling. We have, surely, no reason to repeat the ex- 
periment in order to ascertain the result. It is written in cha- 
: racters conspicuous to every eye, and legible even to the least 
attentive observer, and may serve as a warning both to the pre- 
sent age and to every future generation. Its effects are felt even 
at the present moment, in the country where the experiment was 
tried, in the irreligion and profligacy which, in its populous cities, 
still abound, especially among the middle and higher ranks of 
I society. Its effects are apparent even in our own country ; for 
the skeptical principles and immoral maxims of the continental 
I philosophy were imported into Britain, at an early period of the 
French revolution, when the the Bible was discarded by multi- 
tudes, as an antiquated imposture, and committed to the flames ; 
and it is, doubtless, owing in part to the influence of these prin- 
ciples that, in organizing institutions for the diffusion of know- 
ledge among the lower ranks, attempts have been made to sepa- 
rate science from its references to the Creator, and from all its 
connexions with revealed religion. It is, therefore, the duty of 
every man who loves his species, and who has a regard for the 
, welfare and prosperity of his country, to use his influence in 
\ endeavouring to establish the literary and scientific instruction of 
i the community on the broad basis of the doctrines of revelation, 
and of those moral laws which have been promulgated by the 
authority of the Governor of the universe, which are calculated 
to secure the moral order and to promote the happiness of intelli- 
! gent agents, throughout every province of the Divine empire. 
u When we look at plans of education," says an intelligent 
writer, " matured, or in progress, which are likely to concentrate 
the national intellect, and form the national taste, and engross the 
( daily leisure of the peasant or artisan, on principles of virtual 
I exclusion to every thing specifically Christian, when we see this 
grievous and deadly deficiency attaching to schemes " of bene- 
volence, which are otherwise pure and splendid, receiving the 
sanction of public recognition, countenanced or winked at by the 



' 



312 OK THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Banishment of Sectarian < Opinions. 



titiest ofscbolara aud most illustrious of statesmen, and thus put 
u\ condition lor traversing the land, from the one end to the other, 
we do feel alarmed, in no ordinary degree, at the effects that are 
likely to follow it ; and could we influence the consultations in 
in which the whole originates, would entreat its projectors to 
pause and deliberate, lest they stir the elements of a latent im- 
piety, instead of dispensing a national blessing. We dread not 
the light of science, nor any light of any kind which emanates 
from God to man. On the contrary, we hail it as a precious 
acquisition, provided it be mingled and seasoned with that which 
is revealed as k * the true light which lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world ;" but, in a state of separation from this better light, 
and unattempered by its restoring influence, we are constrained 
to dread it, by all the concern we ever felt for the eternal well- 
being of our human kindred."* 

To prevent any misconceptions that may arise respecting our 
views of the connexion of science and religion, it may be proper 
to remark, in the first place, that we would consider it preposte- 
rous in the highest degree to attempt the introduction of sectarian 
opinions in religion into the discussions connected with science and 
philosophy. It would be altogether irrelevant to the objects of 
scientific associations to introduce the subjects of dispute between 
Calvinists and Arminians, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and In- 
dependents ; and we are of opinion, that the sooner such contro- 
versies are banished, even from theology, and from the Christian 
world at large, so much the better ; for they have withdrawn the 
minds of thousands from the essentials to the mere circumstan- 
tials of religion ; and, in too many instances, have exposed the 
Christian world to the sneers of infidels, and the scoffs of the 
profane. — Nor, in the next place, would we consider it as either 
judicious or expedient to attempt to foist in even the essential 
doctrines of Christianity, on every occasion, when the subject of 
>n did not naturally and directly lead to their introduc- 
tion, or to some allusions to them. Such attempts generally 
the end intended, and arc equally displeasing to the man 
of taste, and to the enlightened Christian. — What we understand 
by connecting science with religion will appear in the following 

serrations : — 

I. As Bcience has it for one of its highest objects to investi- 
gate the works of the Creator, — an opportunity should be taken, 
n imparting scientific instructions, of adverting to the ailri- 

* Rev. D. Young— Introductory Essay to Sir M. llalcs's Contemplations* 



SCIENCE AS CONNECTED WITH RELIGION. 313 



Extracts from Philosophical Writers. 



bates of the Deity as displayed in his operations. The character 
of the Divine Being, and the perfections he displays, are, in every 
point of view, the most interesting of all human investigations. 
The system of nature, in all its parts and processes, exhibits them 
to our view, and forces them, as it were, upon our attention, if 
we do not wilfully shut our eyes on the light which emanates from 
an invisible Divinity through his visible operations. The con- 
templation of this system, even in its most prominent and obvious 
appearances, has a natural tendency to inspire the most profound 
emotions of awe and reverence, of gratitude and admiration, at 
the astonishing displays it exhibits of omnipotent energy, un- 
searchable wisdom, and boundless beneficence. Such studies, 
when properly directed, are calculated to make a powerful and 
interesting impression on the minds of the young ; and it is doing 
them an incalculable injury, when their views are never elevated 
above proximate causes and physical laws, to the agency of Him 
who sits on the throne of the universe. — " If one train of think- 
ing," says Paley, " be more desirable than another, it is that which 
regards the phenomena of nature, with a constant reference to a 
supreme intelligent Author. To have made this the ruling, the 
habitual sentiment of our minds, is to have laid the foundation of 
every thing which is religious. The world from henceforth be- 
comes a temple, and life itself one continued act of adoration. 
The change is no less than this, that whereas formerly God was 
seldom in our thoughts, we can scarcely look upon any thing 
without perceiving its relation to him." And is such a train of 
thinking to be considered as unphilosophical 1 Is it not, on the 
contrary, the perfection of philosophy to ascend to a cause that 
will account for every phenomenon — to trace its incessant agency, 
and to acknowledge the perfections it displays ? Bishop Watson 
has well observed, " We feel the interference of the Deity every- 
1 where, but we cannot apprehend the nature of his agency any- 
where. A blade of grass cannot spring up, a drop of rain cannot 
fall, a ray of light cannot be emitted from the sun, nor a particle 
of salt be united with a never-failing sympathy to its fellow, with- 
out him ; every secondary cause we discover is but a new proof 
of the necessity we are under of ultimately recurring to him, as 
the one primary cause of every thing." 

Illustrations of the position for which we are now contending 

will be found in such works as the following : — Ray's " Wisdom 

| of God in the Creation," — Boyle's " Philosophical and Theolo- 

' gical Works," — Derham's " Astro and Physico-Theology," * — 

* An edition of Derham's Physico-Theology, in two vols. 8vo. (which is not 
very generally known), was published in London in 1798, which contains 
i 27 



314 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Physico-Theplogical Authors. 



Nieuwentyt's k * Religious Philosopher," — T>e Pluche's " Naturo 
Displayed," — Baxter's " Matho," or the principles of natural reli- 
gion deduced from the phenomena of the material world, — Lesser's 
?< cto- t Theology, or a demonstration of the Being and Attributes 
of God, from the structure and economy of insects, with notes by 
Lyonet, — Bonnet's " Contemplation of Nature," — Euler's "Let- 
i ra to a German Princess," translated by Hunter, — Pierre's 
" Studies of Nature," — Paley's " Natural Theology," — Adam's 
ik Lectures on Natural Philosophy," — Parkes's " Chemical Gate* 
bhism," and several others. The chief object of Ray is to 
illustrate the wisdom of the Deity in the figure and construction 
of the earth, in the structure and symmetry of the human frame, 
and in the economy of the animal and vegetable tribes. The 
object of Dcrham, in his Astro-Theology, is to display the wis- 
dom and omnipotence of Deity, as they appear in the structure, 
arrangement, and motions of the heavenly bodies ; and his Physico- 
Theology, a work of much greater extent, demonstrates the being 
and attributes of God from the constitution of the earth and atmo- 
sphere, — the senses, — the structure, motions, respiration, food, 
and habitations of animals, — the body of man, — the economy of 
insects, reptiles, and fishes, — and the structure of vegetables. 
Though this excellent work is now considered as somewhat 
antiquated, yet we have no modern work that can fully supply its 
place. Paley's Natural Theology, however excellent in its kind, 
does not embrace the same extensive range of objects. JYieu- 
wentyt enters into a minute anatomical investigation of the struc- 
ture of the human body, which occupies the greater part of his 
volume ; and in the two remaining volumes illustrates the 
Divine perfections from a survey of the atmosphere, meteors, 
water, earth, fire, birds, beasts, fishes, plants, the physical and 
chemical laws of nature, the inconceivable smallness of the 
particles of matter, and the structure of the starry heavens. The 
voluminous work of he Pluche comprehends interesting de- 
mons of ipeds, birds, fishes, insects, plants, flowers, 
gardens, olive-yards, corn-fields, woods, pasture-grounds, rivers, 
mountains, seas, fossils, minerals, the atmosphere, light, colours, 
vision, the heavenly bodies, globes, telescopes, microscopes, the 
history ofnavij ation, systematic physics, &c. — interspersed with 
a variety pf beautiful reflections, on the wisdom and beneficence 
of the Deity in the arrangements of nature. Eider's Letters 

additional notes 31u8l ative of modern discoveries, a translation of the Greek 
and Latin qu original work, a life of the author, and sixteen 

itive of many curious subjects in the animal 
and vegetable tdngdoi 



PHYSICO-THEOLOGICAL AUTHORS. 315 



French Infidelity. 



comprehend popular descriptions of the most interesting subjects 
connected with natural philosophy and ethics, interspersed with 
moral reflections, and frequent references to the truths of revelation, 
Condorcef, in his French translation of this work, carefully omitted 
almost all the pious and moral reflections of this profound and 
amiable philosopher, as inconsistent with the infidel and athe- 
istical philosophy which then prevailed. " The retrenchments," 
says he, " affect reflections which relate less to the sciences and 
philosophy than to theology, and frequently even to the peculiar 
doctrines of that ecclesiastical communion in which Euler lived. 
// is unnecessary to assign a reason for omissions of this descrip- 
tion ." These omissions were supplied, and the passages alluded 
to restored, by Dr. Hunter, in his English translation, but they 
have been again suppressed in the late edition, published in 
Edinburgh, in two volumes, 12mo. * 

It is much to be regretted that we have no modern Rays, Der- 
hams, Boyles, or Nieuwentyts, to make the light of our recent 
discoveries in science bear upon the illustration of the perfections 
of the Deity, and the arrangements of his providence. Since the 
period when those Christian philosophers left our world, many of 
the sciences which they were instrumental in promoting have ad- 
vanced to a high degree of perfection, and have thrown additional 
light on the wisdom and intelligence of the Divine mind, and the 
economy of the universe. Natural history has widely enlarged 
its boundaries ; our views of the range of the planetary system 
have been extended ; the distant regions of the starry firmament 
have been more minutely explored, and new objects of magnifi- 
cence brought within the reach of our observation. The nature of 



* As a specimen of the omissions to which we allude, the following passage 
i may suffice:—" But the eye, which the Creator has formed, is subject to no 
one of all the imperfections under which the imaginary construction of the 
freethinker labours. In this we discover the true reason why Infinite Wis- 
dom has employed several transparent substances in the formation of the eye. 
It is thereby secured against all the defects which characterize every work of 
| man. What a noble subject of contemplation ! How pertinent that question 
, of tire Psalmist ! He who formed the eye, shall he not see ? and He toho planted 
i the ear, shall he not hear ? The eye alone being a master-piece that far trans- 
cends the human understanding, what an exalted idea must we form of Him 
; who has bestowed this wonderful gift, and that in the highest perfection, not 
' on man only, but on the brute creation, nay, on the vilest of insects !" The 
French philosopher and statesman seems to feel ashamed of the least alliance 
, between philosophy and reli:i >n, when be is induced to discard such reflec- 
I tions. He seems apprehensive, as Dr. Hunter remarks, that a single drop of 
1 water from Scripture would contaminate the whole mass of philosophy. We 
would hope our British philosophers are not yet so deeply tinctured with the 
spirit of infidelity. 



316 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Sir Isaac Newton. 



light has been more accurately investigated, the composition of the 
atmosphere discovered, the properties of the different gases ascer- 
tained, the powers of electricity and galvanism detected, and 
chymistry — a science completely new-modelled — has opened up 
the secret springs of nature's operations, and thrown a new light 
on the economy of Divine wisdom in the various processes which 
are going on in the material system. Is it not unaccountable, 
then, that no modern system of Physico-Theology, embracing the 
whole range of modern discoveries, should have proceeded from 
the pens of some one or other of our most distinguished philoso- 
phers 1 Does this circumstance seem to indicate, that, since the 
early part of the last century, the piety of philosophers has been 
declining, and the infidel principles of the continental school 
gaining the ascendancy ? Infidelity and fatalism very generally 
go hand in hand. When the truths of Revelation are once dis- 
carded, a species of universal skepticism, differing little or nothing 
from atheism, takes possession of the mind ; and hence we find, 
that in the writings of such men as Buffon, Diderot, and La Place, 
there is not the slightest reference to final causes, or to the agency 
of an all-pervading Mind that governs the universe. 

That the connexion between science and theology we have 
been recommending is not a vague or enthusiastic idea appears 
from the sentiments which have been expressed on this subject 
by the most eminent philosophers. Throughout the whole of the 
works of the immortal Newton, we perceive a constant attention 
to final causes, or to the great purposes of the Deity. It was the 
firm opinion of this philosopher, " that, as we are every where en- 
countered in our researches by powers and effects which are unac- 
countable upon any principles of mere mechanism, or the combi- 
nations of matter and motion, we must forever resort to a Supreme 
power, whose influence extends over all nature, and who accom- 
plishes the wisest and most benevolent ends by the best possible 
means." Maclaurin, the friend of Newton, and the commen- 
tator on his Principia, expresses the following sentiments on this 
subject, in his 44 Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Discoveries." 
14 There is nothing we meet with more frequently and constantly 
in nature- than the traces of an all-governing Deity. And the 
philosopher who overlooks these, contenting himself with the ap- 
pearances of the material universe only, and the mechanical laws 
of motion, neglects what is most excellent; and prefers what is 
imperfect to what is supremely perfect, fmitudeto infinity, what is 
narrow and weak to what is unlimited and almighty, and what is 
perishing to what endures forever. Such who attend not to so 
manifest indications of supreme wisdom and goodness, perpetually 



SCIENCE CONNECTED WITH REVELATION. 317 



Harmon}^ of Nature and Revelation. 



appearing before them wherever they turn their views or in- 
quiries, too much resemble those ancient philosophers who made 
Night, Matter, and Chaos the original of ail things." Similar 
sentiments were expressed by the late Professor Robison, one 
of the most profound mathematicians and philosophers of his age. 
" So far from banishing the consideration of final causes from our 
discussion, it would look more like philosophy, more like the love of 
true wisdom, and it would taste less of an idle curiosity, were we 
to multiply our researches in those departments of nature where 
final causes are the chief objects of our attention — the structure 
and economy of organized bodies in the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms. " — " It is not easy to account for it, and perhaps the 
explanation would not be very agreeable, why many naturalists so 
fastidiously avoid such views of nature as tend to lead the mind 
to the thoughts of its Author. We see them even anxious to 
weaken every argument for the appearance of design in the con- 
struction and operations of nature. One would think, that, on 
the contrary, such appearances would be most welcome, and that 
nothing would be more dreary and comfortless than the belief that 
chance or fate rules all the events of nature." — Elements of Me- 
chanical Philosophy, vol. i. pp. 681, 682. We know not whether 
such sentiments were inculcated from the chair of Natural Phi- 
losophy, which Dr. Robison so long occupied, by the distinguished 
philosopher who has lately deceased. 

II. Besides the deductions of natural religion to which we 
have now adverted — in our scientific instructions there ought to 
be a reference, on every proper occasion, to the leading truths of 
revelation. There are many scientific inquirers who would have 
no objections occasionally to advert to final causes and the wis- 
dom of the Deity, who consider it altogether irrelevant, in the dis- 
cussions of science, to make the slightest reference to the facts 
and doctrines detailed in the Sacred Oracles. The expediency 
or the impropriety of such a practice must depend on the views 
we take of the nature of the communications which the Scriptures 
contain. If the Bible is acknowledged as a revelation from God, 
its truths must harmonize with the system of nature, — they must 
throw a mutual light on each other, — and the attributes of the Di- 
vinity they respectively unfold must be in perfect accordance ; 
and therefore it can never be irrelevant, when engaged in the 
study of the one, to refer for illustrations to the other. On the 
(contrary, to omit doing so from a fastidious compliance with what 
frias too long been the established practice, would be a piece of 
glaring inconsistency, either in the theologian on the one hand, or 
the philosopher on the other. We have too much reason to sus- 
i 27* 



31S ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Modern Philosophers, 



peer, that the squeamishness of certain scientific characters, in 
omitting all references to the Christian system, arises either from 
a secret disbelief of its authority, or from a disrelish of the truths 
and moral principles it inculcates. 

Taking for granted, then, what has never yet been disproved, 
that Christianity is a revelation from heaven, and recollecting that 
we live in a country where this religion is professed, it follows, as a 
matter of consistency as well as of duty % that all our systems of 
instruction, whether literary or scientific, whether in colleges, 
academies, mechanics' institutions, or initiatory schools, ought to 
be founded on the basis of the Christian revelation — that, in the 
Instructions delivered in such seminaries, its leading doctrines 
should be recognised, and that no dispositions or conduct be en- 
couraged which are inconsistent with its moral principles. 

More particularly, in describing the processes or phenomena of 
nature, an opportunity should frequently be taken of quoting the 
sublime and energetic sentiments of the inspired writers, and of 
referring to the facts they record, when they are appropriate, and 
illustrative of the subject in hand. This would tend to con- 
nect the operations of nature with the agency of the God of 
nature ; and would show to the young, that their instructors felt a 
veneration for that Book which has God for its Author, and our 
present and future happiness as the great object of its revelations. 
Why should the Bible be almost the only book from which certain 
modern philosophers never condescend to borrow a quotation 1 
They feel no hesitation — nay, they sometimes appear to pride 
themselves in being able to quote from Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno, 
or from Ovid, Virgil, and Lucretius. They would feel ashamed 
to be considered as unacquainted with the works of Bacon, 
Galileo, Newton, Halley, Huygens, Boscovich, Black, Robison, 
Bullon, or La Place, and unable to quote an illustrative sentiment 
from their writings ; but they seem to feel as if it would lessen 
die dignity of science to borrow an illustration of a scientific po- 
sition from Moses or Isaiah, and to consider it as in no wise dis- 
resp< ctfulto appear ignorant of the contents of the Sacred Volume. 
Such were not the sentiments and feelings of the philosophers to 
whose work- I lately referred, which abound with many beautiful 
and appropriate sentiments from the inspired writings. Such were 
not the feelings of the celebrated Eider, whose accomplishments 
in science were admired by all the philosophers of Europe ; nor 
were such the feelings of the late Dr. Robison, who was scarcely 
his inferior. AN hen describing the numerous nebulcz in the distant 
regions of the heavens, he closes his remarks with the following 
reflection : The human mind is almost overpowered with such a 



MORAL TENDENCY OF SCIENCE. 319 



Harmony of Nature and Revelation. 



thought. When the soul is filled with such conceptions of the ex- 
tent of created nature, we can scarcely avoid exclaiming ' Lord, 
what then is man, that thou art mindful of him V Under such im- 
pressions, David shrank into nothing, and feared that he should 
be forgotten among so many great objects of the Divine attention. 
His comfort and ground of relief from this dejecting thought are 
remarkable. ' But,' says he, 4 thou hast made man but a little 
lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and 
honour.' David corrected himself, by calling to mind how high 
he stood in the scale of God's works: He recognised his own 
divine original, and his alliance to the Author of all. Now, cheered 
and delighted, he cries out, 'Lord, how glorious is thy name!' " — ■ 
Elements of Mechanical Philosophy, vol. i. p. 565. 

Again, every proper opportunity should be taken of illustrating 
the harmony which subsists between the system of revelation and 
the system of nature — between the declarations of the inspired 
writers and the facts which are found to exist in the material uni- 
verse. This subject presents an extensive field of investigation, 
which has never yet been thoroughly explored, and which admits 
of the most extensive and diversified illustrations. The facts of 
geology — some of which were formerly set in array against the 
records of revelation — are now seen to be corroborative of the 
facts stated in the Mosaic history ;* and in proportion as the sys- 
tem of nature is minutely explored, and the physical sciences in 
general approximate to perfection, the more striking appears the 
coincidence between the revelations of the Bible and the revela- 
tions of Nature. And one principal reason why this coincidence 
at present does not appear complete is, that the Scriptures have 
never yet been thoroughly studied in all their references, nor the 
system of the material world thoroughly explored. The facts of 
modern science, of which many of our commentators were igno- 
rant, have seldom been brought to bear upon the elucidation of the 
inspired writings, and the sentiments of the sacred writers have 
seldom been illustrated by an appeal to the discoveries of science. 
The views which the system of nature exhibits of the plan and 
principles of the Divine government, the reasons of the operation 
of those destructive agents which frequently exert their energy 
within the bounds of our sublunary system, and the connexion 
which subsists between physical and moral evil, might also form 
occasional subjects of investigation; as they are all deeply inte- 
resting to man considered as a moral agent, and as the subject of 
the moral administration of the Governor of the Universe. 

* For illustrations of this position, see Dr. Ure's Geology, Parkinson's Or- 
ganic Remains, &c. 



20 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Advoi - Education. 



In -i place, we hold it as a matter of particular import- 

ance, that the instructions of science be conducted in such a 
man I i make n upon the heart. An ob- 

►n has frequently been rais< d by religious people against the 
study of science, from its tendency to produce a spirit of intellec- 
tual pride ; and it can scare denied that there is some ground 
for the objection, when the pursuits of general knowledge are en- 
ftted from religion. But the objects of science, when 
I exhibited^ and accompanied with appropriate reflections, 
have a x 'rent tendency. When we consider the number- 
multitudes of beings which exist in the universe, and the 
immense variety of processes incessantly going forward in every 
department of nature ; when we consider the infinite wisdom and 
intelligence, far surpassing human comprehension, which they 
display ; when we consider the immense magnitude and extent 
of the universal system of created beings, and the probability that 
man stands near the lower part of the scale of rational existence, 
and is only like an atom in the immensity of creation, — we per- 
e the most powerful motives for humility and self-abasement. 
When we consider the benevolent arrangements in the elements 
around us, and in the structure and functions of animated beings, 
and the provision made for their subsistence, it has a natural ten- 
> inspire the heart with gratitude and af lection towards 
. from whom all our comforts flow. And when we reflect on 
ir of the Deity as displayed in the magnificence of his 
empire, and in his incessant agency throughout all its provinces, 
should it not inspire us with reverence and adoration, and with 
a lively hope that a period will arrive when we shall behold the 
wonders and glories of his creation more fully unfolded 1 Such 
timents and emotions the works of God, when rightly contem- 
are fitted to produce ; and to overlook them in our instruc- 
3 to the young is to deprive them of some of the purest enjoy- 
ne of the gi advantages, which flow from 
• knowledge. When their minds are deeply impressed 
s, they are in some measure prepared for listen- 
declarations of the inspired volume, and 
i iving the id sublimity of the descriptions it gives 
off fGod. 

It would p< smile of contempt in some who would 

spurn at the idea of being ranked in the class of infidels, were I 

tsinuate, thai our e c meetings and lectures should be 

lyer, and adoration of the Divine Being. It might 

indeed admit of a doubt whether it would be expedient to attempt 

such a practice Ml the present state of society. But I have no 



HYPOCRISY OF SKEPTICAL CHARACTERS. 321 



Public Prayer to the Deity 



■ hesitation in affirming, that to acknowledge God in all our pur- 
i suits, and to pay Him a tribute of adoration, are dictates of natu- 
• ral as well as of revealed religion, and that a Deist, were he to act 
! in consistency with his avowed principles, would engage in daily 
. prayer to the Great Author of his existence. It is expressly en- 
joined in the Scriptures, " In all thy ways acknowledge God, and 
. he shall direct thy steps ;" and it is declared to be one of the 
characteristics of the wicked man, " that God is not in all his 
thoughts," and that " through the pride of his countenance he will 
. not call upon God." If we firmly believe there is a God, we 
must also believe that he is present in all places, and privy to all our 
thoughts, that all our circumstances and wants are open to his 
Omniscient eye, and that "he is able to do for us above all we 
can ask or think." Although we are ignorant of the precise phy- 
sical connexion between prayer and the bestowment of a favour by 
God, yet we ought to engage in this duty, because it is accor- 
dant with the idea of a Supreme Being, on whom we are every 
moment dependent, and has therefore been acknowledged by the 
untaught barbarian, as well as by the enlightened Christian ; be- 
cause it is positively enjoined ; because there is a connexion es- 
tablished by the Creator between asking and receiving ; because 
it tends to fix our thoughts on the Omnipresence of the Divine 
Mind, to impress our hearts with a sense of the blessings of 
which we stand in need, and to excite earnest desires after them ; 
and because it is one way in which we may hold a direct intercourse 
with our Creator. I would not envy the Christian feelings of that 
man who can habitually engage in literary compositions or scien- 
tific discussions, without acknowledging his Maker, and imploring 
his direction and assistance. Religion degenerates into some- 
thing approaching to a mere inanity when its spirit and principles 
I are not carried into every department of human life and society, 
nor its requisitions attended to in every secular business in which 
we engage. Till the principles of Christianity be made to bear 
in all their force on every department of human actions, and 
especially on the business of education, we can scarcely expect 
that its benign tendency will be generally appreciated, or that so- 
ciety will reap all the benefits which it is calculated to impart. 

There are, however, certain descriptions of literary characters, 

who, although they consider it expedient to pay an occasional 

. compliment to Christianity, would consider such remarks as bor- 

I dering on superstition or fanaticism. When we talk to them about 

' the Christian revelation, in general terms, they do not choose to 

say any thing directly against its excellence or divine authority ; 

but if we descend into particulars, and expatiate on any of its 



'322 OM THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



Hypocrisy— Buflbn. 



fundamental doctrines, or attempt to reduce to practice its holy 
requisitions, we arc frequently mei with a contemptuous sneer, or 
a cry of enthusiasm, and sometimes with a harangue against the 
follies of Methodism, or of Bible and Missionary Societies. We 
are thus led to infer, w ith some degree of reason, that such cha- 
racters have no impressive belief of the Divine origin of the 
Christian system; and it would be much more honourable and 
consistent at once to avow their infidelity, than to put on the mask 
of dissimulation and hypocrisy. No individual ought to be sub- 
jected to any civil penalties on account of the opinions he holds, 
as lor these he is accountable only to his Maker ; nor should any 
opinions be attempted to be extirpated by any other weapons than 
the strength of reason and the force of arguments. But, at the 
same time, it is requisite that society should know the leading 
principles of any one who proposes himself as a public instructer 
of his fellow-men, in order that they may judge whether it would 
be proper to place their relatives under the instructions of one who 
might either overlook Christianity altogether, or occasionally 
throw out insinuations against it. To act the hypocrite, to pro- 
fess a decent respect for the Christian religion, while the princi- 
ples of infidelity are fixed in the mind, accompanied with a secret 
wish to undermine its foundations, is mean and contemptible, un- 
v\ orthy of the man who wishes to be designated by the title of 
philosopher. Yet such hypocrisy is not at all uncommon ; it was 
particularly displayed by the skeptical philosophers on the Con- 
tinent, prior to the French Revolution, and avowed to their most 
intimate associates. 

Bi/Jfon, the natural historian, who appears to have been an 
atheist, was also, according to his own confession, a consummate 
hypocrite. In a conversation with M. Herault Sechelles, in 1785, 
about four years before his death, and when he was in the seven- 
ty-eighth year of his age, he declared, "In my writings I have 
always spoken of the Creator ; but it easy to efface that word, 
and substitute in its place, the powers of nature, which consist in 
the | and laws of attraction and repulsion. When the Sor- 

bonne* become troublesome to me, I never scruple to give them 
faction they require. It is but a sound, and men are 
foolish enough to he contented with it. Upon this account, if I 
were ill, and (bund my end approaching, I should not hesitate to 
ive the sacrament. Helvetius was my intimate friend, and has 
frequently visited me at Montbart. I have repeatedly advised 
him to discretion ; and had he followed my advice, he 

iuld have hem much happier." " My first work," continued 

The faculty of Theology at Paris. 



HYPOCRISY OF SKEPTICAL CHARACTERS. 323 



Anecdotes of Buffon. 



he, " appeared at the same time with .L' Esprit des Lois, Jfflon- 
tesqmeu and myself were tormented by the Sorbonne, The pre- 
sident was violent. " What have you to answer for yourself 7" 
says he to me, in an angry tone. " Nothing at a//," was my 
answer, and he was silenced and perfectly thunderstruck at my 
| indifference." In perfect accordance with such a system of 
. hypocrisy, Buffon kept a father confessor almost constantly with 
him, to whom he was in the habit of confessing, in the same 
apartment where he had developed the Principles of Materialism, 
which, according to his system was an abnegation of immortality. 
( He also regularly attended mass on Sundays, unless prevented 
t by indisposition, and communicated in the Chapel of the Glory, 
. every Whitsuntide. ' Though he heartily despised his priestly 
j confessor, he nattered and cajoled him with pompous promises, 
j and condescending attentions. " I have seen this priest," says 
) Sechelies, " in the absence of the domestics, hand over a towel 
I to the count, set the dining-table before him, and perform such- 
like menial services. Buffon rewards these attentions with, I 
thank you, my dear child" Such was the habitual hypocrisy of 
I this philosopher ; and, said he, " it has been observed by me in 
I all my writings : I have published the one after the other in such 
! a manner, that men of vulgar capacities should not be able to 
trace the chain of my thoughts." His intolerable vanity and 
I pomposity, his breach of promises, the grossness of his conver- 
sation, and his numerous amours and intrigues, were in perfect 
, correspondence with such principles, and the natural result of 
! them. " His pleasantries," says Sechelies, " were so void of de~ 
: licacy, that the females were obliged to quit the room."* What 
a scene of moral anarchy would be introduced, were such prin- 
ciples to be universally inculcated and acted upon in society ! All 
j confidence between man and man would be shaken, and the 
i foundations of the social system undermined and destroyed. Yet 
such was the morality which almost universally prevailed among 
j the continental philosophers, in consequence of the skeptical and 
' atheistical principles they had imbibed. Truth, sincerity, mo- 
I desty, humility, and moral obligation formed no part of the code 
of their morality ; and such, in all probability, would soon be the 
i result in our own country, were the pursuits of science and phi- 
losophy to be completely dissevered from religion. 

In the last place, there are several topics connected with reli- 
jgion which might occasionally be made the subjects of discussion 

* See an account of some particulars in the private life of Buffon, by M. 
Sechelies, one of his admirers, in the Monthly Magazine for July, 1797, sup- 
plementary No. vol. 3, pp. 493 — 501. 



324 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Immortality of the Soul. 



in scientific associations : such, for example, are the evidences 
and importance of the Christian Revelation — the physical and 
moral facts to which it occasionally adverts — the attributes of the 
Divinity — the genera] principles of moral action — the laws which 
the Creator has promulgated for preserving the order of the in- 
telligent system, and the foundation on which they rest — the evi- 
dences lor the immortality of the soul, and the eternal destiny of 
man. These and similar topics might, on certain occasions, be- 
come subjects of investigation, as they can be illustrated without 
entering on the arena of theological controversy, or descending 
within the limits of sectarian opinions. I do not mean to say 
that they should be discussed according to the method of forensic 
disputations, by opposite parties taking different sides of a ques- 
tion — a mode of communicating knowledge the tendency of which 
is very questionable — but that certain positions in reference to 
them should be proved and illustrated, in a direct manner, in the 
form of essays, lectures, or oral instructions. The topics now 
specified, and those which are intimately related to them, are sub- 
jects of the deepest interest and importance to every individual 
of the human race ; and, therefore, no valid reason can be as- 
signed why such subjects should not be occasionally elucidated 
in literary and scientific seminaries, if it be one object of such 
institutions to promote the happiness and — what is essentially re- 
quisite to it — the moral improvement of mankind. 

For example, is it not in the highest degree important to every 
human being that he should be convinced of his immortal destiny, 
and have his mind impressed with the realities of a future world 
— that he should ascertain whether, at death, he is to be reduced 
forever into the same situation as the clods of the valley, or 
transported to a more expansive sphere of existence? Take 
away from man the prospect of immortality, and you throw a 
veil of darkness and mystery over all the scenes of creation ; you 
reduce the moral world to a scene of confusion, and involve the 
ways of Providence in a dark inextricable maze ; you inwrap the 
character of the Deity in awful obscurity, and terminate every 
prospect of becoming more fully acquainted with the magnificence 
of the universe ; you reduce man to an enigma — to the most in- 
explicable phenomenon in creation, and annihilate the strongest 
motives to the practice of virtue. But this is not all ; you remove 
the most powerful motives to the pursuit of scientific knowledge; 
for, in this case, you confine its beneficial results merely to the 
promotion of the comforts and conveniences of the present tran- 
sitory life ; and the discoveries of the order and extent of the 
universe it unfolds, and the speculations to which they lead, tend 



IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTHS. 325 

• J- -i ■ - ; 

Immortality of the Soul. 

§ ; only to bewilder and perplex the mind, when it is cut off from all 
1 'hopes of prosecuting its inquiries beyond the grave, and of be- 
; holding the mysterious scenes of creation more fully displayed. 
'On this ground, a man who is exhorted to cultivate an acquaint- 
■ -ance with science, might, with some reason, exclaim, " Of what 
; avail is it to spend anxious days and sleepless nights in acquiring 
scientific knowledge, when it may be all lost before to-morrow's 
' -dawn, or, at the farthest, after the lapse of a few short years, when 
my intellectual faculties shall be annihilated 1 I can acquire but 
l r a few scattered fragments of it at most, although I were to prose- 
cute my researches as far as the most distinguished geniuses have 
ever advanced ; and I must quit the field of investigation before 
■the ten-thousandth part of it is half explored. Had I a prospect 
-of enlarging my faculties and resuming my researches in a future 
'state of being, I might engage in them with some degree of inte- 
rest and vigour ; but to one who is uncertain whether his con- 
nexion with the intelligent universe shall be continued for another 
day, it appears quite preposterous, and tends to deprive me of 
many sensitive gratifications which I find essential to my present 
-enjoyment." What is affirmed of happiness, in general, may be 
applied to knowledge, one of its ingredients, that the expectation 
of its permanency is indispensably requisite to its perfection. It 
is the prospect of science being prosecuted in a future world and 
carried to perfection, that confers a dignity on its objects, and 
forms the most powerful motive to engage in its pursuits ; and, 
in this point of view, it may be considered as forming a part of 
that training which is requisite to prepare us for the activities, the 
^contemplations, and enjoyments of that higher sphere of existence. 
•But where no such hopes are indulged, intellectual pursuits are 
deprived of their chief excellence and importance, and the best 
^affections of the heart of their sublimest objects and most exalted 
pleasures; and the more the powers of the mind have been exer- 
cised and improved, and the more it feels itself prepared for a se- 
ries of rational enjoyments, the more chagrined and disappointed 
jnust it feel when years roll away, and it approaches the point 
ftvhere it is to sink into eternal oblivion. Without the hopes of 
'admission to future sources of enjoyment at the hour of dissolu- 
Tion, we may assume an air of composure, because we are una- 
ble to resist, or an air of fortitude from the last efforts of pride ; 
but, in point of fact, we can await the extinction of our being only 
jwith a mournful and melancholy gloom. 

j This representation has frequently been realized in the case of 
%ien of cultivated minds, who had thrown aside the obligations of 
religion and the idea of a future world, when they approached the 

i 28 



326 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Voltain — Buffon— Gibbon. 



Confines of the tomb ; of which the following instances may 
suffice : — I'oltuirc, when approaching his dissolution, looked back 
upon protracted years with remorse, and forward with dismay. 
lie wished for annihilation, through the dread of something worse. 
He attempted to unburden his troubled mind by confession to a 
priest ; and he placed his hopes of peace with Heaven in an eager 
conformity to those rituals which he incessantly treated with con- 
tempt. In a previous indisposition he insisted upon sending for 
a priest, contrary to the warmest remonstrances of his friends and 
attendants. On recovery he was ashamed of his conduct, and 
ridiculed his own pusillanimity. This pusillanimity, however, 
returned upon a relapse ; and he had again recourse to the mise- 
rable remedy. He acknowledged to Dr. Tronchin, his physician, 
the agonies of his mind, and earnestly entreated him to procure for 
his perusal a treatise written against the eternity of future punish- 
ment. These facts were communicated to Dr. Cogan by a gentle- 
man highly respected in the philosophical world, who received them 
directly from Dr. Tronchin ; and they concur with many others in 
demonstrating the impossibility of enjoying permanent felicity 
without the hopes and consolations of religion. M. Sechelles, to 
whose narrative I lately referred, relates, that in one of his con- 
versations with Buffon, the count declared, "I hope to live two 
or three years longer, to indulge my habit of working in literary 
avocations. I am not afraid of death, and am consoled by the 
thought that my name will never die. I feel myself fully re- 
compensed for all my labours by the respect which Europe has 
paid to my talents, and by the flattering letters I have received 
from the most exalted personages." Such were the consolations 
which this philosopher enjoyed in the prospect of the extinction 
of his being. His name would live when he himself was for ever 
blotted out from that creation which it was the object of his 
writings to describe ! But that his mind was not altogether 
reconciled to the idea of sinking into eternal oblivion may be 
inferred from another anecdote, related by the same gentleman. 
" One evening I read to Buffon the verses of Thomas on the 
immortality of the soul. He smiled. ' Par Dieu? says he, ' re- 
ligion would be a valuable gift if all this were true? " This 
remark evidently implied that the system he had adopted was not 
calculated to present so cheerful a prospect of futurity as the 
system of Rev< lation. 

Gibbon^ the a lebrated historian of the "Rise and Fall of the 
Roman Empire," had his mind early tinctured with the principles j 
of infidelity ; and hi- historical writings are distinguished by so- ; 
veral insidious attacks on Christianity, by unfair and unmanly 



GLOOMY PROSPECTS OF INFIDELITY. 327 

Gibbon — Hume. 

sneers at the religion of his country, and by the loose and disre- 
spectful manner in which he mentions many points of morality 
regarded as important, even on the principles of natural religion. 
Such appears to have been his eagerness in this cause, that he 
stooped to the most despicable pun, or to the most awkward per- 
version of language, for the pleasure of turning the Scripture into 
ribaldry, or calling Jesus an impostor. Yet he appears to have 
been actuated by the same spirit of hypocrisy which distinguished 
BufFon and his philosophical associates : for, notwithstanding his 
aversion to Christianity, he would have felt no scruple in accept- 
ing an office in the church, provided it had contributed to his pe- 
cuniary interests. On the occasion of his father having been 
• obliged to mortgage part of his estate, he thus expresses himself: 
' " I regret that I had not embraced the lucrative pursuits of the 
law or of trade, the chances of civil office or India adventure, or 
even the fat slumbers of the church." Such is too frequently the 
morality displayed by infidels, and there is reason to suspect that 
the church is not altogether purged of them even in the present 
day. That Gibbon's principles were not sufficient to support his 
mind in the prospect of dissolution, appears from many expres- 
sions in the collection of his letters published by Lord Sheffield ; 
in which are to be traced many instances of the high value which 
he placed upon existence, and of the regret with which he per- 
ceived his years to be rapidly passing away. His letter on the 
death of Mrs. Posen bears every mark of the despondent state of 
his mind at the idea that " all is now lost, finally, irrecoverably 
lost /" He adds, " I will agree with my lady, that//ie immortality 
of the soul is, at some times, a very comfortable doctrine." The 
announcement of his death in the public prints, in January, 1794, 
was accompanied with this remark : " He left this world in gloomy 
despondency, without those hopes and consolations which cheer 
the Christian in the prospects of immortality." Dr. A. Smith, in 
the account he gives of the last illness of Hume, the historian, 
seems to triumph in the fortitude which he manifested in the 
prospect of his dissolution ; and he adduces a playfulness of ex- 
1 pression as an evidence of it, in his jocular allusion to Charon and 
his boat. But, as Dr. Cogan, in his Treatise on the Passions, 
very properly remarks, " A moment of vivacity, upon the visit of 
a friend, will not conduct us to the recesses of the heart, or dis- 
cover its feelings in the hours of solitude." It is, indeed, alto- 
I gether unnatural for a man who set so high a value upon his lite- 
< rary reputation, and certainly very unsuitable to the momentous 
occasion, to indulge in such childish pleasantries as Hume is re- 
* presented to have done, at the moment when he considered him- 

i 



328 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Diderot 

self as just about to be launched into non-existence; and, there- 
fore, we have some reason to suspect that his apparent tranquillity 
was partly the effect of vanity and affectation. " He has con- 
fessed," says Dr. Cogan, "in the most explicit terms, that his 
priic iplea were not calculated to administer consolation to a 
thinking mind*" This appears from the following passage in his 
Treatise on Human Nature. " I am affrighted and confounded 
with that forlorn solitude in which I am placed hy my philosophy. 
When 1 look abroad, I foresee, on every side, dispute, contra- 
diction, and distraction. 'When I turn my eye inward, I find 
nothing but doubt and ignorance. Where am I, or what? From 
what causes do I derive my existence, and to what condition 
shall I return ? I am confounded with these questions, and be- 
gin to fancy myself in the most deplorable condition imaginable, 
environed with the deepest darkness." * 

Diderot, one of the French philosophists, was a man of very 
considerable acquirements in literature and in the physical 
sciences. The first publication by which he attracted public 
notice was a volume written against the Christian religion, enti- 
tled Pensees Philosophiques. Afterward, in company with Vol- 
taire and D'Alembert, he conducted the publication of the Die- 
tionHaire Encyclopediqne, the secret object of which was to sap 
the foundations of all religion, while the reader, at the same time, 
was presented with the most splendid articles on the belles-lettres, 
mathematics, and different branches of physical science. While 
a weak divine, to whom the theological department of the work 
w T as committed, was supporting, by the best arguments he could 
devise, the religion of his country, Diderot and D'Alembert were 
overturning those arguments under titles which properly allowed 
of no such disquisitions ; and that the object of these digressions 
might not pass unnoticed by any class of readers, care was taken 
to r< fer to them from the articles where the question was discussed 
by the divine. If ere was an example of that hypocrisy to which 
I have already adverted, as characteristic of the sect of infidel 
philosophers; and the following anecdote is illustrative of similar 
disingenuity, coupled with almost unparalleled impudence. la 
the course of his correspondence with the late Empress of Rus- 
Diderot mentioned his own library as one of the most valuable 
in Europe, although it is supposed not to have contained above a 
hundred volumes. IVhen Catherine wanted to purchase it and 
make him librarian, he said that his constitution could not support 
th'- cold climate of Petersburgh. She offered to let him keep it 

* Treati.se on Human Nature, vol. i. p. 458. 



gloomy Prospects of infidelity. 329 

Diderot. 

during his lifetime at Paris ; and the library was sold for an im- 
mense price. When her ambassador wanted to see it, after a 
year or two's payments, and the visitation could no longer be put 
off, he was obliged to run in a hurry through all the booksellers' 
shops in Germany, to fill his empty shelves with old volumes. It 
was customary for Diderot and D'Alembert to frequent the coffee- 
houses of Paris, and to enter with keenness into religious dis- 
putes, the former attacking Christianity, and the latter, under the 
mask of piety, defending it, but always yielding to the arguments 
of his opponent. This practice was put a stop to by the police; 
and Diderot, when reproached by the lieutenant for preaching 
atheism, replied, " It is true, I am an Atheist, and I glory in it." 
But such principles will not always support the mind, nor did 
they support the mind of Diderot, when his dissolution approach- 
ed. When he perceived that death was at no great distance, he 
desired that a priest might be brought, and the cure de St. Sul- 
pice was introduced to him. He saw this ecclesiastic several 
times, and was preparing to make a public recantation of his 
errors ; but Condorcet and the other adepts now crowded about 
him, persuaded him that his case was not dangerous, and that 
country air would restore him to health. For some time he re- 
sisted their attempts to bring him back to atheism, but they 
secretly hurried him to the country, where he died, and a report 
was spread that he died suddenly on rising from the table, with- 
out remorse, and with his atheism unshaken. 

Such are the native effects of the highest intellectual accom- 
plishments, and the most brilliant acquirements in science, when 
unaccompanied with the spirit of true religion and of Christian 
morality. They cannot improve the moral order of society; they 
cannot procure for their possessors substantial enjoyment, even 
in the present life; and they are altogether inadequate to support 
and tranquillize the soul in the prospect of the agonies of dissolv- 
ing nature. Notwithstanding the rational gratifications such 
persons may have occasionally enjoyed in philosophical pursuits, 
they must be obliged to confess that they have acquired no equi- 
valent for those joys which frequently animate the hearts of the 
most illiterate, who are sometimes enabled to look forward to the 
king of terrors without dismay, and to depart in peace with hopes 
full of immortality, — when the philosophist is obliged to exclaim, 
*' All is now lost, finally and irrecoverably lost." Yet such is the 
tendency of the principles which are now in operation in our lite- 
rary and scientific seminaries, and such the result to which we 
must ultimately look forward, should the principles of religion be 
discarded from the pursuits of knowledge. 
28 



330 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, 



(.'<>lirlusio;i. 



li is therefore to be hoped, that all who have a sincere regard 
tor the promotion of science, for the interests of religion, and for 
the welfare of their country, will devote a portion of their atten- 
tion to tliis important subject, and set their faces in opposition to 
the spirit o( that skeptical philosophy which has so long debased 
and demoralized the continental philosophists. Were all the in- 
structions delivered in our seminaries, from infant schools, through 
all the gradations of grammar and parochial establishments, me- 
chanics' institutions, academics, and universities, judiciously 
amalgamated with the principles of pure and undefiled religion, 
it would doubtless be accompanied with a variety of pleasing and 
ficial effects. It would tend to remove the prejudices which 
a considerable portion of the religious world still entertain against 
the pursuits of science, — it would lead to correct and rational 
views of the Christian system, and tend to dissipate those foolish 
and superstitious notions which have too frequently been grafted 
upon it, — it would promote the interests of genuine morality 
among society at large, — it would fit the inferior ranks of the 
community for taking a part in the elective franchise and govern- 
ment of their country, and the higher ranks for promoting the 
enactment of law r s congenial to the spirit of true religion, and 
promotive of the best interests of the nation, — it would tend to 
secure the peace and tranquillity of nations, by undermining the 
malignant passions from which wars and contentions derive their 
origin, — it would introduce a general spirit of philanthropy, and 
give efficacy to the means employed, for promoting the knowledge 
of Christianity throughout the world, and would, ere long, ushei 
in the period foretold in ancient prophecy, when "the knowledge 
of Jehovah shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the chan- 
nels of the deep," and "when righteousness and praise shall* 
spring forth before all nations." 



APPENDIX, 



No. I. — Ignorance of the Dark Ages. Page 12, &c. 

The following facts, chiefly extracted from Dr. Robertson^ 
History of Charles V., will show the low state of literature and 
the deplorable ignorance which characterized the period to which 
the text refers. In the ninth century, Herbaud Comes Palatii, 
though supreme judge of the empire, by virtue of his office, could 
not subscribe his name. As late as the fourteenth century, Du 
Guesclin, Constable of France, the greatest man in the state, 
could neither read nor write. Nor was this ignorance confined 
to laymen — the greater part even of the clergy were not many 
degrees superior to them in science. Many dignified ecclesia*- 
tics could not subscribe the canons of those councils of which 
they sat as members. One of the questions appointed by the 
canons to be put to persons who were candidates for holy orders 
was this — " Whether they could read the Gospels and Epistles, 
and explain the tenor of them, at least literally?' — Alfred the 
Great complained that from the Humber to the Thames there 
was not a priest who understood the liturgy in his mother tongue? 
or who could translate the easiest piece of Latin ; and that from 
the Thames to the sea the ecclesiastics were still more ignorant 
The ignorance of the clergy is quaintly described by Alanus, an 
author of the dark ages, in the following words : " Potius dediti 
guise quam glosssc ; potius colligunt libras quam legunt libros ; 
libentius intuentur Martham quam Marcum ; malunt legere in 
Sahnone quam in Solomone," — t. e. They gave themselves more 
willingly to the pleasures of gluttony than to the learning of 
languages ; they chose rather to collect money than to read 
books ; they looked upon JVIartha with a more affectionate eye 
than upon Mark ; and they found more delight in reading in 
Salmon than in Solomon. 

One of the causes of the universal ignorance which prevailed 
during that period was the scarcity of books, along with their 
exorbitant price, and the difficulty of rendering them more com- 
mon. The Ptomans wrote their books either on parchment or 



332 APPENDIX. 



Scarcity and Value of Books. 



00 paper made of the Egyptian papyrus. The latter, being the 
cheapest, was of course the most commonly used. But after 
the communication between Europe and Egypt was broken off, 
on account of the latter having been seized upon by the Saracens, 
the papyrus was no longer in use in Italy and other European 
countries. They were obliged, on that account, to write all their 
books upon parchment : and as its price was high, books became 
extremely rare, and of great value. We may judge of the scarcity 
of the materials for writing them from one circumstance. There 
still remain several manuscripts of the eighth, ninth, and follow- 
ing centuries, written on parchment, from which some former 
writing had been erased, in order to substitute a new composition 
in its place. In this manner, it is probable, several works of the 
ancients perished. A book of Livy or of Tacitus might be erased 
to make room for the legendary tale of a saint, or the superstitious 
prayers of a missal. Many circumstances prove the scarcity of 
books during these ages. Private persons seldom possessed any 
books whatever. Even monasteries of considerable note had 
only one missal. Lupus, Abbot of Ferriers, in a letter to the 
pope, A. D. 855, beseeches him to send him a copy of Cicero 
De Oratore, and Quintilian's " Institutions" — " For," says he, 
11 although we have part of those books, there is no complete 
copy of them in all France." The price of books became so 
high that persons of a moderate fortune could not afford to pur- 
chase them. The Countess of Anjou paid for a copy of the 
Homilies of Hamon, Bishop of Alberstadt, two hundred sheep, 
five quarters of wheat, and the same quantity of rye and millet. 
Even so late as the year 1471, when Louis XI. borrowed the 
works of Racis, the Arabian physician, from the faculty of medi- 
cine in Paris, he not only deposited in pledge a considerable 
quantity of plate, but was obliged to procure a nobleman to join 
with him as surety in a deed, binding himself under a great for- 
feiture to restore it. When any person made a present of a book 
to a church or monastery, in which were the only libraries during 
several ;iL r < s, it was deemed a donative of such value, that he 
offered it on the altar pro remedio animoz suet, in order to obtain 
the forgiveness of his sins. In the eleventh century, the art of 
making paper, in the manner now become universal, was invent- 
ed : by means of which, not only the number of manuscripts 
increased, but the study of the sciences was wonderfully faci- 
litated. 






SUPERSTITIONS RESPECTING COMETS. 333' 

Extraordinary Comets. 

No. II. — Foolish and Superstitious Opinions respecting Comets 
and Eclipses. Page 22. 

Aristotle held comets to be fiery exhalations, rising from the 
lower atmosphere to the upper or fiery region, condensing during 
.heir rapid descent, kindling on their near approach to the em- 
*yreum, and burning until exhausted. Leonard JDigges, an 
tlmanac maker of the fourteenth century, affirmed of comets, 
4 That they signifie corruption of the ayre ; they are signs of 
earthquake, of warres, chaunging of kingdomes, great dearth of 
;orne, yea a common death of man and beast." — Bodin supposed 
•hem spirits, which, having lived on the earth innumerable ages r 
and having at last completed their term of existence, celebrate 
their last triumphs, or are recalled to heaven, in the form of shin- 
ing stars. In the records of former ages, we read of a comet 
u coming out from an opening in the heavens, like to a dragon 
with blue feet, and a head covered with snakes." And we are 
told that " in the year 1527, about four in the morning, not only 
in the palatinate of the Rhine, but nearly over all Europe, appear- 
ed for an hour and a quarter a most horrible comet in this sort. 
In its length it was of a bloody colour, inclining to saffron. From 
the top of its train appeared a bended arm, in the hand whereof 
«vas a huge sword, in the instant posture of striking. At the 
^oint of the sword was a star. From the star proceeded dusky 
rays, like a hairy tail ; on the side of them other rays like jave- 
lins, or lesser swords, as if imbrued in blood ; between which 
ippeared human faces of the colour of blackish clouds, with rough 
aair and beards. All these moved with such terrible sparkling 
and brightness, that many spectators swooned with fear." — 
Rosenburgi, " Exempla Cometarum." 

The comet of 1454, seen at Constantinople, seemed there to 
be moving in the firmament from west to east, and to present the 
aspect of a flaming sword. From its great magnitude, it is said 
even to have eclipsed the moon, and created among the Turks 
the utmost consternation, as it was thought to prognosticate 
nothing less than a crusade from all the kingdoms of Christen- 
dom, and forebode the certain overthrow of the crescent. Only 
two years afterward, when, notwithstanding these direful omens, 
the Turkish arms had proved eminently victorious, and were 
spreading dismay over all Europe, Halley's comet, in 1456, with 
a long tail turned towards the east, created reciprocal and still 
greater alarms on the part of the Christians. Pope Calixtus be- 
lieved it to be at once the sign and instrument of divine wrath ; 



334 APPENDIX, 



Ignorance of the Nature of Comets. 



r 



he ord< red public prayers to be offered up, and decreed that in 
every town the bells should be tolled at mid-day, to warn the 
people to supplicate the mercy and forgiveness of Heaven; " ut 
omnes de precibus contra Turcarum tyrannidem fundendis ad- 
monerentur." That all people may be admonished to pour out 
supplications against the tyranny of the Turks. — See Milne's 
Essay on Comets. 

Even in modern times many foolish and preposterous opinions 
have been entertained respecting these anomalous bodies. In 
a late periodical publication, the writer of an article on comets, 
when alluding to the comet of 1811, proceeds to state " some 
singular changes and circumstances" which its influence occa- 
sioned. " The winter," says he, "was very mild, the spring was 
wet, the summer cool, and very little appearance of the sun to 
ripen the produce of the earth ; yet the harvest was not deficient, 
and some fruits were not only abundant, but deliciously ripe — 
such as figs, melons, and wall-fruit. Very few wasps appeared, 
and the flies became blind, and disappeared early in the season. 
No violent storms of thunder and lightning, and little or no frost 
and snow the ensuing winter. Venison, which has been sup- 
posed to be indebted for its flavour to a dry and parched summer, 
was by no means deficient in fat or in flavour. But what is very 
remarkable," continues this sage observer, " in the metropo- 
lis and about it, was the number of females who produced 
twins : some had more ; and a shoemaker's wife, in WhitechapeJ, 
produced four at one birth, all of whom, &c. &c. And all 
such " singular changes and circumstances," it would appear, 
according to the fancy of this sapient essayist, " were occasioned 
by the influence of the comet which appeared in the autumn of 
1811 !!" 

The poets, likewise, by their bombastic descriptions, have 
tended to perpetrate superstitious feelings. The following is 
Du Barta's description of one of these visiters : 

" Here, in the niirht, appears a flaming spire, 
There, a fierce dragon, folded all on fire ; 
1 [ere, with bug bloody hairs, a blazing star 
Thre itena the world with famine, plague, and war j 
To princ< death, to kingdoms many crosses; 
To all « it itea inevitable losses ; 
T<> herdsmen rot, to ploughmen hapless seasons ; 
To Bailors -tonus, to cities civil treasons." 

The following extract from " Tully's Letters from Tripoli," 
contains a picturesque description of a. solar eclipse, and the effects 
it produced OB the inhabitants of Barbary. 



SUPERSTITIONS RESPECTING ECLIPSES. 335 



Eclipse of the Sun in Barbary. 



" I cannot here omit describing what an extraordinary impres- 
sion an eclipse makes on the uninformed part of the inhabitants 
of this country. Of this we had ocular proof during the great 
eclipse of the sun on the 4th of this month, which was almost 
total, and occasioned, for some minutes, a gloomy darkness^ 
resembling that of midnight. The beginning of the eclipse was 
seen at Tripoli at half-past seven in the morning ; at half-past 
eight, when it was at the height, the face of nature was changed 
from day to night. The screech-owl, not long retired to its rest, 
reappeared, and disturbed the morning with its shrieks. Lizards 
and serpents were seen prowling about the terraces ; and flights 
of evening birds, here called marabats, and held sacred by the 
Moors, flew about in great numbers, and increased the darkness. 
The noisy flitting of their wings roused the Moor, who had been 
stupified with fear ; and when one of these heavy birds (which 
often drop to the ground by coming in contact with each other) 
chanced to fall at his feet, the African would start aghast, look at 
it with horror, and set up a hideous howl. About eight o'clock, 
when the lustre of the morning was completely faded, the com- 
mon Moors were seen assembling in clusters in the streets, gazing 
wildly at the sun, and conversing very earnestly. When the 
eclipse was at its height, they ran about distracted in companies, 
firing volleys of muskets at the sun, to frighten away the monster, 
or dragon, as they called it, by which they supposed it was being 
devoured. At that moment the Moorish song of death and 
tvaUiah-woo, or the howl they make for the dead, not only re- 
sounded from the mountains and valleys of Tripoli, but was 
undoubtedly re-echoed throughout the continent of Africa. The 
women brought into the streets all the brass pans, kettles, and 
iron utensils they could collect ; and, striking on them with all 
their force, and screaming at the same time, occasioned a horrid- 
noise, that was heard for miles. Many of these women, owing 
to their exertions and fears, fell into fits, or fainted. The dis- 
tress and terror of the Moors did not in the least abate till near 
nine o'clock, when the sun assured them, by his refulgent beams, 
that all his dangers were passed. 

" During the morning and the day the atmosphere was uncom- 
monly clear, even for a Barbary sky, which rendered the effects 
of this great eclipse more striking. We learned from Hadgi 
Abderrahman, who paid us a visit when it was over, that the first 
ladies in the place had trembled at the event, and several were 
seriously ill. The ladies of his own family, he said, had suffered 
much less at the appearance of the eclipse, from the circumstance 
of his being at home with them ; for though he considered it would 



33G APPENDIX* 



Abmrditiei of Astr< 



be um less to enter into a philosophical accountofit to them, yet 
ssured them that the moon went occasionally to see the sun; 
and when they met, by their being so close together, thfc moonal- 
ways interrupted more or Jess of his light. This account, he said, 
the truth of which they were convinced of by his great earnestness, 
considerably abated their fears. To the ambassador it was a serious 
case, as Lilla Amnani is m a very delicate state of health; but 
Lccouni he gave her of the phenomenon entirely pacified her." 
Thi 1 above description presents a melancholy picture of the 
M ignorance even of the Indies of modern Barbary, and of the 
consequent shallowness of their understandings ; since their 
fathers and husbands considered it useless to enter into a rational 
account of the phenomenon, and since they were pleased with 
such an absurd and extravagant explanation of it. And since the 
higher ranks in that country are so grossly ignorant of the order 
of nature, and of the causes of so common phenomena, in what a 
state of mental darkness must the lower classes of society be 
placed ! Nor is Barbary the only country in which such igno- 
rance prevails. Among the middle and lower ranks in many 
European countries, supposed to be in a moderate state of civili- 
zation, a similar degree of intellectual debasement will be found 
to exist. The Croatians, who inhabit a certain district of the 
Austrian empire, make the whole of their religion consist in the 
hearing of mass and the observance of Lent ; and robbery or 
murder are considered as more venial crimes, than to eat, during 
Lent, with a spoon that has been dipped in broth. The Morlacchi, 
who occupy another district of the same empire, are described by 
i extremely superstitious in their religious opinions, 
and as firmly believing in ghosts and witches, in sorceries and 
enchantments, and in every species of supernatural agency, while 
they are ignorant of the causes of the most common phenomena 
of nature. 

No. II. — Absurdities of Jlstrolopj. Page 24, &c. 

Mr. Varley's " Zodiacal Physiognomy," referred to in a note, 
p. 2-1, pretends to decide that the various signs of the zodiac 
iversity in the features and complexions of human 
beings; and have, in fact, such influence over the destinies of 
the human race, thai til'- systa m may be fairly styled "thephre- 
_ r v of the ski< B." The following extracts exhibit a fewspeci- 
mens of the positions maintained by this profound and erudite 
writer. " It has been discovered/' says Bfr. Yarley, "that each 
sign confers a specific style of countenance, feature, and com- 



ABSURDITIES OF ASTROLOGY. 337 

s^ ' . . . , i, . j 

Extracts from Varley's " Zodiacal Astrology." 

plexion, by which appearances alone the sign which was rising at 
the east, at birth, can often without any other help be ascertained. " 
— " The fiery tiigon, consisting of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, 
contain the spirited, generous, magnanimous, and princely natures ; 
the earthy trigon, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, contain the care- 
ful, sordid, and pernicious qualities ; the aerial trigon, Gemini, 
Libra, and Aquarius, contain the humane, harmonious, and cour- 
teous principles ; and the watery trigon, Cancer, Scorpio, and 
Pisces, the cold, prolific, cautious, and severe qualities." — " Sa- 
gittarius, the house of Jupiter, is the only sign under which no 
persons are born having black or dark hair, eyes, and eyebrows." 
— " I have always uniformly found," says the author, " those born 
under Sagittarius to be very fair, with gray eyes, and, in general, 
of a lively, forgiving-hearted, and free disposition." Again : 
" Five minutes' difference of the time of their birth renders the 
members of the same family red-haired or black-haired, blue- 
eved, or black-eyed, sordid or generous." — u Saturn, at any period 
of life, passing through the ascendant, which he does every thirty 
years, causes dulness or melancholy for a few weeks to the native, 
and when Jupiter passes over it, the party feels cheerful and 
healthy ; and should a party of antiquarians, hundreds of years 
after a person's death, discover his grave, there must be some 
planet or the sun in conjunction, or some other aspect with his 
ascendant." — " Jupiter in the third house gives safe inland jour- 
neys, and agreeable neighbours or kindred. The moon in this 
house will give constant trudging from one place to another, and 
is often so posited in the nativities of postmen and travellers. 
Jupiter in the fourth, with Venus, gives fixed or landed property, 
and a house ornamented with matters of taste, or of the fine arts. 
Jupiter in the fifth gives a family of good or clever children, and 
much pleasure in life and its amusements. In the sixth he signi- 
fies good servants and assistants, good health, and that the native 
will be fortunate in small cattle and animals. Jupiter in the 
seventh signifies a good wife or husband, and agreeable dealings 
with mankind in making good bargains, &c." — " Children born 
under Mars have well-formed chins — under Aquarius, are fair 
' and amiable — under Scorpio, are dark, with aquiline noses, and 
! greenish or gray eyes." — " Lord Byron, who was born under 
; Scorpio, received enough of the reflected Taurus principle to pre- 
vent his nose from being aquiline, and to give to his character a 
degree of perverseness or eccentricity." — " Persons born under 
j Aries, with Jupiter in the first house, are likely to succeed and 
be appreciated in England : if he be posited in Taurus, the native 
is likely to succeed well in Ireland ; if in Gemini, in London, of 
29 



APPENDIX. 



Present Belief in Astrology. 



which thus Bign is the significator. Jupiter in Cancer will give 
him success in Scotland or Holland) or concerns connected with 
the water, unless Jupiter should be afflicted by any malevolent 
planet, or be in combustion by being too near the sun." 

By this time the reader will be sufficiently satiated with die sage 
doctrines of .Mr. John Varley, in relation to " Zodiacal Physiog- 
nomy" and tlit^ phrenology of the heavens. If he has a desire to 
pick up any more of such preeious fragments of wisdom, he will 
be abundantly gratified in perusing the work itself, where, among 
Other unique and precious relics, he will be presented with an en- 
graving of the ghost ofajlea, together with an account of the 
manner in which it appeared to Mr. Blake, the artist, who drew 
it, and of its astrological correspondency and signification. That 
such absurdities should be published by the first bookselling 
establishment in London, in the twenty-eighth year of the nine- 
teeth century, and be purchased by hundreds, perhaps by thou- 
sands, is a proof that strong efforts are still requisite to extirpate 
the superstitions of astrology from the minds of many of our 
countrymen. 

No. IV. — Proofs of the belief which is still attached to the doctrines 
of Jlstrology, and of the pernicious effects it produces. Page 24. 

That the predictions of astrologers are still believed by many of 
our countrymen in the middling ranks of life, appears from the 
following recent occurrences. 

On the 2d September, 1829, Joseph Hyatt, a journeyman 
printer, was summoned before Sir Peter Laurie, at the Guildhall, 
London, charged with assaulting his wife Phillips on the preced- 
ing Saturday. In his defence, Hyatt declared that all their 
unhappiness proceeded from his wife (a pretty young woman of 
eighteen years) continually haunting the fortune-tellers, and pay- 
ing attention to their predictions. He produced a paper he had 
ntly found, written by an astrologer, to whom his wife had 
applied. After laying down the position of the planets on the 3d 
of June, at the moment she applied to him, the astrologer pro- 
ceeds, k * The querant must not expect any thing to be very kind 
to her until late in this year, say October next. This day will 
not prove any thing kind or pleasant The 28th day of this 
month also will not be friendly. July 2d, mind your phunny, 
and take no journey, and trust to no relative. The 8th day will 
not be unkind, I hope. Look to it. The 13th day also promises 
vou pleasure and also profit Attend it; and avoid all dark sal- 
low persons." (Her husband nearly answered this description.) 



PRESENT BELIEF IN ASTROLOGY. 339 

Its pernicious Effects. 



* From such your disappointments must come. August 2, 6, 23, 
avoid them days — may be qualified to give you vexation ; avoid 
them. September 1, 6, will be unkind — but pray avoid 15, 20. 
October 4, avoid it — may be vexatious. The 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 
30, will be more kind ; pray attend to them, and make good use 
of them ; they will not be unkind." The husband said this fel- 
low had predicted their separation for three months ; what other 
tilings he had put in her head he did not know, but he led a mise- 
rable life with her. — JWorning Chronicle, September 3d, 1829. 

On the same day as above stated (Sept. 2, 1829), Ann Wheeler, 
a servant girl, was brought to the JMansion-house, charged with 
having attempted to enter the house of her master at two o'clock 
in the morning, over the rails. She was exquisitely dressed, and 
wore an elegant satin bonnet, which belonged to her mistress, 
and put on her curls and finery, in order to attend a " hop" in the 
neighbourhood, and acknowledged that she had been walking for 
an hour or two up and down the streets in conversation with her 
friend. In the course of the investigation it was stated that there 
was found in the corner of her box, wrapped up carefully, a docu- 
ment which might have led to those unseasonable and unfortunate- 
assignations, which at last terminated in her being brought to 
the watch-house. A paper was handed to the lord-mayor, in 
which was folded a card, on which was written the following 
words : — 

" Mrs. Smith, No. 49, Wentworth-street, Dress-maker." 
" Lawful questions resolved." 

The paper was an answer to the question, " What sort of a 
husband shall I have, and how soon shall I have himl" It stated, 
that the " interrogator should have a nice respectable tradesman, 
who should be a most tender husband, and be the father of six 
children, of which she should be the happy mother ; — that certain 
planets wei % e visible at their birth, and in conjunction at the time, 
a symptom that betokened felicity, and that the union should take 
place as surely as he or she (the person who wrote the paper) 
had the power of predicting " — Morning Chronicle, September 
3d, 1S29. 

The above are only specimens of many similar occurrences 
which are occasionally recorded in the daily papers. The perni- 
cious tendency of astrological predictions on those who are 
weak enough to give them credit is sufficiently apparent in the 
cases now stated ; having in the one case alienated the affections 
of a young woman from her husband, and produced contention 
and family discord ; and in the other, tantalized a vain young fe- 
male, and brought her into suspicious and disgraceful circum- 



340 ATPF.NDIX, 



Ancient Belief in Witchcraft. 



stances, which may lay the foundation of her ruin, and render her 
miserable for life. 

No. V. — Illustrations of some of the opinions and practices of our 
ancestors in relation to Witchcraft. Page 31. 

By witchcraft was generally understood j — a supernatural power, 
of which persons were supposed to obtain the possession, by en- 
tering into a compact with the devil. They gave themselves up 
to him, body and soul ; and he engaged that they should want 
for nothing, and that he would avenge them upon all their ene- 
mies. As soon as the bargain was concluded, the devil delivered 
to the witch an imp, or familiar spirit, to be ready at a call, and 
to do whatever it was directed. By the assistance of this imp, 
and the devil together, the witch, who was almost always an old 
woman, was enabled to transport herself through the air, on a 
broomstick, or a spit, to distant places, to attend the meetings of 
the witches. At these meetings the devil always presided. They 
were enabled also to transform themselves into various shapes, 
particularly to assume the forms of cats and hares, in which they 
most delighted ; to inflict diseases on whomsoever they thought 
proper, and to punish their enemies in a variety of ways. Witch- 
craft was universally believed in Europe till the sixteenth cen- 
tury, and maintained its ground with tolerable firmness till the 
middle of the seventeenth, nay, in some countries on the Conti- 
nent till the middle of the eighteenth century. Yast numbers of 
reputed witches were convicted and condemned to be burnt every 
year. The methods of discovering them were various. One 
was to weigh the supposed criminal against the church Bible, 
which, if she was guilty, would preponderate ; another, by making 
her attempt to say the Lord's Prayer, — this no witch was able 
to repeat entirely, but would omit some part or sentence thereof. 
It is remarkable that all witches did not hesitate at the same part, 
— some leaving out one part, and some another. Teats, through 
which the imps sucked, were indubitable marks of a witch ; these 
were always raw, and also insensible, and, if squeezed, some- 
times yielded a drop of blood. A witch could not weep more 
than three tears, and that only out of the left eye. This want of 
tears was, by the witch-finders* and even by some judges, con- 
sidered a- a very substantial proof of guilt. Swimming a witch 
was another kind of popular ordeal generally practised. For 
this she was stripped naked and cross-bound, — the right thumb 
to the left toe, and the left thumb to the right toe. Thus pre- 
pared she was thrown into a pond or river, in which, if guilty* 



PUNISHMENT OF SUPPOSED WITCHES. 341 



Superstitions Cruelt)\ 



she could not sink ; for having, by her compact with the devil, 
renounced the benefit of the water of baptism, that element, in 
its turn, renounced her, and refused to receive her into its bosom. 
There were two other ordeals by fire, by which witches were dis- 
covered ; the first by burning the thatch of the house of the sus- 
pected witch, — the other, by burning any animal supposed to be 
bewitched by her, as a hog or an ox. These, it was held, would 
force a witch to confess. 

The trial by the stool was another method used for the detec- 
tion of witches. It was thus managed : — Having taken the sus- 
pected witch, she was placed in the middle of a room, upon a 
stool, or table, cross-legged, or in some other uneasy posture, to 
which, if she did not submit, she was then bound with cords, — 
there she was watched and kept without meat or sleep for twenty- 
I four hours (for, they said, that within that time they should see 
i her imp come and suck). A little hole was likewise made in the 
• door for imps to come in at, and, lest it should come in some less 
discernible shape, they that watched were taught to be ever and 
anon sweeping the room, and if they saw any spiders or flies, to 
kill them, — if they could not kill them, then they might be sure 
they were imps. If witches, under examination or torture, would 
I not confess, all their apparel was changed, and every hair of their 
body shaven off with a sharp razor, lest they should secrete ma- 
gical charms to prevent their confessing. It was a maxim, too, 
in these proceedings, that witches were most apt to confess on 
Fridays. By such trials as these, and by the accusations of 
children, old women, and fools, were thousands of unhappy wo- 
men condemned for witchcraft, and burned at the stake. 

A work, written by J\L Thoest, was published a few years ago 
at Mentz, entitled, " The History of .Magic, Demons, Sorce- 
rers, M &c, which contains an affecting narrative of the numbers 
that have suffered for the pretended crime of magic and witch- 
craft. The cases enumerated are proved from unequivocal au- 
thority. In these excesses of the magistrates, it appears that 
female sorcerers have been the greatest sufferers. Among other 
■curious articles in the collection, we learn, that Christopher de 
iRuntzow, a gentleman of Holstein, wljose heated imagination had 
'misled his understanding, consigned eighteen persons to the flames 
at one time, the victims of a merciless superstition. In a village 
called Lindheim, containing about six hundred inhabitants, not 

I less than thirty were destroyed by fire, in the narrow interval be- 
tween the years 1661 and 1665, making a twentieth part of the 
whole population consumed in four years. In this inhuman con- 
duct towards an unhappy class of persons, the author points out 

29* 
/ 



342 Arrr.NDix. 



Bull of Pope Innocent VIII. 



Wurtzburg as having frequently been subject to well-merited re- 
proach. It appears froip the Acta Magica of Naubers, that be- 
tween the years 10*27 and 1,629, one hundred and twenty-seven 
individuals perished in similar instances of cruelty practised by 
their brother men. The principal objects of such nefarious deal- 
ings were old women, or travellers, and frequently poor children, 
from nine to ten years of age. Occasionally such outrages have 
been perpetrated on persons of some consequence, — proficients 
in knowledge above the general standard of the age, or such as 
had acquired property by their industry and genius. Among 
many others in these shocking details are the respectable names 
of fourteen vicars, two young gentlemen, some counsellors, the 
largest or most corpulent man in Wurtzburg, and his wife, the 
handsomest woman in the city, and a student or scholar engaged 
in the study of foreign languages. Those innocent sufferers 
were frequently put to the torture. But what must our feelings 
and principles incline us to think of an enormity here brought to 
our recollection, in the instance of a poor girl, Maria Renata, who 
suffered so late as in the year 1749 ! 

The extent of the judicial murders for witchcraft is far greater 
than most persons, who have not studied the history of demon- 
ology can form any idea. From the period in which Pope Inno- 
cent VI 11., in 1484, issued his bull against witchcraft, to the mid- 
dle of the seventeenth century, if we believe the testimonies of 
contemporary historians, Europe was little better than a large 
suburb or outwork of Pandemonium, one-half of the population 
being either bewitching or bewitched. Delrio tells us, that five 
hundred witches were executed in Geneva, in three months, about 
the year 1515. "A thousand" says Bartholomeus de Spina, 
" were executed in one year, in the diocess of Como, and they 
went on burning at the rate of a hundred per annum for some 
time after." In Lorraine, from 1580 to 1595, Remigius boasts 
of having burnt nine hundred. In France, the executions for 
the same crime were fifteen hundred and twenty. In Wurtzburg 
and Treves, the amount of executions in the course of the century 
preceding 1028 is reckoned to be 15,700. It has been calculated 
that in Germany alone, the number of victims that perished, from 
the date of Innocent's bull to the eighteenth century, consider- 
ably exceeds one hundred thousand. The executions were at 
first confined to crazed old women, or unhappy foreigners, but at 
length the witchcraft phrensy rose to such a pitch, and spread so 
extensively, that the lives of more exalted victims were threat- 
i ned. Noblemen and abbots, presidents of courts and professors, 
began to swell the catalogue, and no man felt secure that he 



TRIALS FOR WITCHCRAFT. 343 

In Scotland. 



might not suddenly be compelled, by torture, to bear witness 
against his own innocent wife and children. In the Catholic 
canton of Glarus, in Switzerland, it is said that a witch was 
burnt even so late as the year 1786 ! It is impossible for any 
rational and humane mind to peruse such a list as the above with- 
out shuddering and horror. How dreadful the results to which 
ignorance and superstition have led ! — and how astonishing the 
consideration, — that judges, lawyers, ministers of religion, 
nobles, and persons of all ranks, should have given their sanc- 
tion, without the least remorse, to such cruelties and legalized 
murders ! 

In Pitcairn's " Criminal Trials," referred to in the text, a va- 
riety of curious documents is contained, respecting the proceed- 
ings of the Justiciary Court in Scotland against witchcraft, sorcery, 
and incantation. One of these trials relates to a gentleman of 
family, Mr. Hector Monro of Fowies, who was " indytit and ac- 
cusit" of " sorcerie, incantationnis, or wichecraft." This trial 
contains a complete specimen of the superstition of the age. Mr. 
Hector, it would appear, had sent for " Johne M'Connielly-gar 
and his wyfTes, and Johne Bunes wyrTe, in Lytell Alteis, three 
notorious and commoune wiches." They had been sent for to 
assist in restoring the health of Robert Monro, a brother of the 
said Mr. Hector, who entertained them for five days. It is said 
in the indictment, that they " poillit the hair of Robert Monro, 
his brotheris head, and plait the naillis of his fingeris and tais," 
and " socht be thair develisch meanes to have cureit him^of his 
sickness ;" but it would appear, that the weird sisters were by 
no means successful, and were compelled to decamp, for " they 
wald haif vsit furth the rest of thair develisch craft was nocht 
they ferit to tarie with him (Hector Monro), be ressone of his 
fader, quha wald haif apprehendit thame ; and they declarit to 
him that he was owre lang in sending for thame, swa that they 
cald do na guid to the said Robert Monro." Mr. Hector, how- 
ever, fell sick himself, and had recourse to the hags for a cure ; 
and as he had an eye to the patrimony of his father, to which he 
could not succeed, as he was a younger son, he began some in- 
cantations, in concert with the hags, to deprive his elder brother, 
George Monro, of life, and for this he was " delatit," also of 
" slaughter." The indictment, which is a most remarkable do- 
cument, is too long for insertion. Jonett Grant, Jonett Clark, 
and Bessie Roy, nurse to the " Laird of Boquhave," are the 
three next ladies who were called to account for being " fylit" of 
witchcraft. The two Jonetts seem to have been in partnership ; 
and if the indictments are to be credited, they were guilty of no 



344 APPENDIX, 



Absurdity of a Belief in Witchcraft, 



fewer than six M erewal lnurtluTs,"' by witchcraft, of the " slavch- 
tcr and destmctionne of saxtene hcid ofnolt," of raising Hie devil, 
of making men eunuchs by witchcraft, &c. For such hardened 
sinners as the two Joncttt do mercy was to be expected, and ac- 
cordingly they were condemned to be "*tane to the Castle hill of 
Edinburgh, and there wcrriet at anc staik, and their body tobe burnt 
toassis." Bessie Roy, however, came off with flying colours, al- 
though she was also indicted as M anc commoune thief," by means 
of the " enchantment and slicht of the diuill." — The following is 
the title of a pamphlet, republished by Mr. Pitcairn, containing a 
most extraordinary narrative. " JVewes from Scotland, declaring 
the damnable life of Doctor Fean, a notable sorcerer, who was 
burned at Edinburgh in Janurie last, 1591, which doctor was 
register to the deuill, that sundrie times preached at North Bar- 
ricke kirk to a number of notorious witches, &c." The poor 
woman who was most cruelly treated was Euphane Mackalsane, 
a notable witch, who appears to have been so notorious as to be 
M bound to ane staik, and brunt to assis, quick to the death." 
" This," says Mr. Pitcairn, "was the severest sentence ever pro- 
nounced by the court, even in the most atrocious cases ;" but poor 
Euphane died, nevertheless, with all the heroism and devotedness 
of a martyr. See Edin. Lit. Gaz. July, 1S29. 

To attempt a serious refutation of the doctrines of witchcraft 
would be altogether superfluous, and even ridiculous. That there 
ever were witches, that is, persons endowed w ith such powers as 
are usually ascribed to witches, is what no rational and enlighten- 
ed mind can for a moment admit. The actions imputed to them 
are either absurd or impossible. To suppose an ignorant old wo- 
man, or indeed any human being, capable of transforming herself 
mi- 1 a cat or a hare, is to suppose her capable of counteracting 
the laws of nature, which is competent to none but the supreme 
Ruler of the world. We might almost as soon believe that such 
a being is oapable of creating the universe. It presents a most 
humiliating picture of the imbecility of the human mind, that such 
absurdities should ever have been believed ; and certainly con- 
no very favourable idea of the humanity of our ancestors, 
when they inflicted, without remorse, so many shocking cruelties, 
especially on the lender sex, far such fancied crimes. Yet, absurd 
as (he doctrine of witchcraft certainly is, it is a lamentable fact, 
that vasl multitudes of our fellow-men, both in our own country 
and in other lands, are still belie vers in sorcery and witchcraft, of 
which an instance or two is stated in the following note. 



PREVALENT BELIEF IN DEMONOLOGY. 345 

Occasion of a Murder in France. 

No. VI. — Proofs that the belief in Witchcraft is still prevalent 
among certain classes of society. 

Notwithstanding the degree of information which prevails in 
the nineteenth century, it is a melancholy consideration that su- 
perstition and a belief in the efficacy of certain incantations still 
prevail to a considerable extent, even in the most enlightened 
countries. The following recent occurrences will tend to corro- 
borate this position, and at the same time show the pernicious 
consequences which frequently result from such a belief. 

On the 2d September, 1829, Laurent Raimboult, a farmer in 
the hamlet of Redoire, Commune of Champtre, in France, spent 
the day in measuring w T heat at the house of Poirier, his brother- 
in-law. About eight o'clock in the evening, he left to go to his 
own house, which was about half a league from Poirier's house. 
He carried a bag containing the measure he had been using, and 
a box holding his dinner, which he had not opened ; for he had 
stated his intention not to eat till he returned home. The next 
morning his corpse w r as found in a meadow, bordered by a wood, 
and not very far from his own house. His body was horribly 
mutilated, his clothes stained with blood, and there was a large 
wound on the back part of his head. All the wounds showed 
that he had been struck by several persons armed with contusive 
weapons. Near him the ground had not been trod upon ; his 
bag and the things it contained were carefully laid by his side ; 
all proved that he had not been robbed. Poirier, who has always 
had a good character in that part of the country, was on very bad 
terms with Raimboult, who passed for a sorcerer. Some time 
ago, the wife of Poirier had fallen sick, as well as several of his 
cattle. Poirier did not doubt for an instant that these sicknesses 
were the effect of sorcery. He came to Angers, and consulted 
a pretended diviner, a miserable victim of monomania, who gave 
him a full water-bottle, and told him to take it home with him, 
and put it in the very best place of his house. " At such an 
hour," said the diviner, "you should recite such and such pray- 
ers before my water-bottle, and then you will see in the water 
it contains the likeness of him who has bewitched your wife and 
your cattle." Poirier followed these orders precisely ; and it is 
only too probable that his imagination being pre-occupied with 
the idea, this wretched man fancied he saw his brother-in-law in 
the water-bottle of the guilty diviner, and thought he was doing 
a service to his country in delivering it from a being whom he re- 
garded as the friend and favourite of the devil. — Copied from a 
Paris paper, in Morning Chron. Sept. 23, 1829. 



346 APPENDIX. 



Deceptive Practice of Sorcery. 



The following occurrence, in another department of France, 
happened nearly about the same time as the preceding. 

"It appears thai in the department of Lot and Garonne, and 
particularly in some of the communes of the district of Mar- 
mande, the belief of sorcery is common among the people. John 
Sabathe, a peasant with plenty of money, living in the vicinity of 
Clairac, had a sick daughter : medicine had failed, which is no- 
thing extraordinary; but there remained magic, and Sabathe 
greatly relied upon it. He applied to Rose Peres, who enjoyed 
the reputation of being a witch. He stated the condition of his 
daughter ; the witch replied she would go and visit her. She 
went the next morning to Sabathe's residence, saw the sick girl, 
and declared she was bewitched. [Perhaps she was not so far 
wrong cither, for some witnesses, who were no doubt very spite- 
ful, gave it as their opinion that love had entered a little into this 
affair.] Whatever was the cause of her illness, the witch pro- 
mised to relieve her, and said, that the thing was not without a 
remedy. She told them to light a great fire, and they would see 
why afterward. Little as we are initiated into the secrets of ma- 
gic, we know that odd numbers, especially the number three, have 
singular virtues ; therefore 3 multiplied by 3 must be a number 
prodigiously powerful. It was apparently for this reason that the 
witch required nine large pebble stones, which she put into the fire, 
and kept there till they were red hot : she then threw them into a 
kettle full of water, and the mysterious vapour that arose served 
to perfume the patient that w r as lying over it. But this was only 
the preamble of ceremonies much more important. She had a 
table brought to her; it was covered with a cloth, and two lighted 
candles placed on it; there was even an end of wax that had been 
used in the church ; a hammer was placed symmetrically between 
the two candles, and on one side of the table the witch laid, with 
a grave and mysterious air, the formidable book of magic, so well 
known by the name of Little Albert. She still wanted one thing; 
it was a plate filled with water, in which a sum of 400 francs 
(16/. sterling) was to be deposited. The plate was brought ; as 
to the sum, we may remark how difficult magic must be to prac- 
tise, and what attention is requisite to its details. Crown-pieces 
of six francs were about to be put into the water, when the witch 
called out, 'Take care what you are doing i it is crown-pieces of 
five francs that are wanted.' She was instantly obeyed, — the 
crowns of five francs are at the bottom of the plate. 

u Things being in this state, every body left the house. The 
witch remained alone for about half an hour ; she then reopened 
the doors, and said they might re-enter. She added, that all had 



PREVALENT BELIEF IN DEMONOLOGY. 347 



Superstitious Ceremonies. 



succeeded, but that the malignant spirit that had appeared had 
carried away the 400 francs on withdrawing. The witch's hus- 
band then arrived; his wife told him that the assembly was made. 
'It's all well,' said he ; 'but thy sister is at thy house, and she 
wants to see you, and w T e must go there/ They went accord- 
ingly ; Sabathe and his family a little stupified, and the patient in 
the same state as before. These were the facts which were 
made known to the court by indirect evidence, for these good folks 
took care to make no complaint, for fear of the witches. The 
court sentenced her to imprisonment for three years, and a fine of 
fifty francs. She had been charged before the Royal Court of 
Agen for swindling, under pretence of practising witchcraft. 
Some years ago, the same court sentenced to close imprisonment 
three or four women, living in the neighbourhood of Villereal, for 
having put on the fire and half-burned a pretended witch, who 
would not cure them of a disease she had given them." — Gazette 
des Tribunaux, as quoted in Morn. Chron. Sept 28, 1S29. 

In both the above cases we perceive an implicit belief in the 
powers of divination and sorcery, a belief which appears to be 
general among the lower ranks of society; and it would appear 
that the profession of witch or sorcerer is pretty common in the 
principal towns in France. In the one instance this belief led 
to a most atrocious murder, and in the other to a dexterous rob- 
bery ; and in this latter case, it would seem, that, notwithstanding 
the palpable imposture that was practised on Sabathe and his fa- 
mily, these simple people still believed in the supernatural powers 
of the sorceress who had so barefacedly robbed them, for "they 
took care to make no complaint, for fear of the witches." — Near- 
ly akin to the notions under consideration is the following super- 
stition relating to bees. 

The practice of informing bees of any death that takes place 
in a family is well known, and still prevails among the lower orders 
in England. The disastrous consequences to be apprehended 
from non-compliance with this strange custom is, that the bees 
will dwindle and die. The manner of communicating the intelli- 
gence to the little community, with due form and ceremony, is this — 
to take the key of the house, and knock with it three times against 
the hive, telling the inmates, at the same time, that their master 
or mistress, &c. (as the case may be) is dead ! Mr. Loudon 
says, when in Bedfordshire lately, we were informed of an old 
man who sung a psalm last year in front of some hives which 
were not doing well, but which, he said, would thrive in conse- 
quence of that ceremony. — Magazine of Nat. Hist, for 1828. 
The Constitutionnel (January, 1828) states, that under the in- 



34S APPENDIX. 



ntific Knowledge mistaken tor Necromancy, 



fluence of the Jesuits, and with the countenance of the authorities, 

Slc. the most brutifying talcs of superstition and fanaticism are 
printed and circulated in the province a of France. One of the 
ridn uloua narratives to which it alludes details the fate of a blas- 
pheming baker, who, being infected with the heresies of the Re- 
volution, had addicted himself to the commission of every kind of 
impiety. While his oven one day was heated, and he was about 
to put the bread into it, be vented his usual oaths in the presence of 
two neighbours; when, lo! the dough miraculously refused to enter, 
and the baker was seized with a cold shivering, of which he died 
in two davs. In his will he left 600 francs to the church, con- 
U Bsed his enormities, and besought the prayers of his friends. In 
another, we are told of the discovery of a miraculous image, which 
will he a permanent source of ecclesiastical revenue. This image 
is that of a saint, which has been for the last two centuries 
concealed in a rock. It was discovered by means of a little 
white bird perched upon a brilliant crucifix, which guarded the 
spot. Since the discovery, the lame walk, the sick are healed, 
and the blind recover their sight, by resorting to the consecrated 
ground. 

It is not above fifteen or sixteen years ago since the late Alex- 
ander Davidson, A. M., lecturer on experimental philosophy and 
chemistry, when in Ireland, was much annoyed by the superstitious 
belief in necromancy and infernal agency which still prevails among 
a large portion of the lower orders in that country. When deli- 
vering a course of lectures in a small town not far from London- 
derry, the rumour of the experiments he performed spread among 
the body of the people, many of whom had listened at the outside 
of the hall in which he lectured, to the loud detonations produced 
by eh ctrical and other experiments, particularly the explosions of 
hydrogen gas. The great majority of the inhabitants believed he 
was an astrologer and necromancer, and considered it dangerous 
t<» have the slightest intercourse with his family, even in the way 
of buying and selling. One morning his servant-maid was sent 
out for bread and groceries for breakfast. After a considerable 
time, she returned with a pitiful countenance and a heavy heart, 
and declared that not an article of any description could be obtain- 
ed. "What, Mr. D., " is th< re no tea, sugar, or bread in the 
whole village I" — " yes," replied the maid, " there is plenty 
of ( very thing we want, but nobody will sell us an article; they say 
we are all witches and wizards and necromancers, and it 's no 
canny to tak ony o J your money." Mr. Davidson and family, in 
tin- case, might have starved, had he not bethought himself of 
employing the servant of an acquaintance, who was one of his 



PREVALENT BELIEF IN DEMONOLOGY. 349 

A Philosopher mistaken for a Sorcerer. 

y 

auditors, to procure, in her master's name, the requisite provisions; 
and this planhe was obliged to adopt during the remainder of his stay 
in that place. At another time his boots required to be repaired ; 
the servant took them to a shoemaker, and they were received by 
one of the female branches of his family ; but when the shoemaker 
understood to whom they belonged, he stormed, and was indig- 
nant at their receiving any thing from such a dangerous individual. 
The servant soon after returned to inquire if the boots were re- 
paired. " Is the astrologers boots mendit ?" one of the family 
vociferated. " No," was the reply, " they are not mendit, nor do 
we intend to mend them, or have any thing to do with them." The 
shoemaker's wife desired the servant to come in, and lift the boots 
herself; " for," said she, " I will not touch them ;" and it appears 
that both the shoemaker and his wife had been afraid even to put 
their fingers upon them, and doubtless imagined that the very cir- 
cumstance of their having been received into the house would 
operate as an evil omen. On the day previous to his leaving that 
place, he sent his servant to engage a chaise to carry them to the 
next town. The servant told the landlady of the inn (which was 
the only one from which a carriage could be procured) that her 
master wished to hire a chaise for to-morrow to carry them to 

N . The landlady told her it could not be granted. M For 

what reason 1" said the maid. " You knoiv very well what is the 
reason" said the landlady, in a very emphatical tone. After the 
servant returned with this reply, Mr. Davidson himself went to 
the inn, when the following dialogue took place between him and 
the landlady : — " Well, madam, can you give me a chaise to 
carry me to Newryl" — " No ; for our horses are very tired, as 
they have been out all day, and they cannot go to-morrow." — " O 
dear, madam, is that the only reason ? You know very well / 
can make them go" The landlady, putting on a grave counte- 
nance, replied with emphasis, " We all know that very well. We 
know that you could sink the town, if you chose to do it. But I 
shall give you the chaise, to carry you out of the place, and make 
the town rid of you ; but it is more for fear of you than love to 
you that I consent to grant you my chaise." Such were the ab- 
surd and superstitious notions prevalent among the lower class of 
the Irish in 1814 or 1815 ; and these were not the only instances 
in which they were manifested, but only specimens of what fre- 
quently occurred in other parts of that country. 

However clearly persons of education and intelligence may 

perceive the absurdity and futility of the superstitious notions and 

practices to which I have now referred, it is a fact well known to 

those who have been conversant among the lower orders of so- 

30 



350 APPENDIX, 



Illusions upon the s, nse F \ 



cm iv, that liuv still prevail to a very considerable extent among 
the untutored ranks, even of our own country. Nothing but a 
more assiduous cultivation of the rational powers, and auniversal 
diffusion of useful knowledge ornong the interior classes of society, 
can be expected thoroughly to undermine and eradicate such opi- 
nions, and to prevent the baneful and pernicious consequences lo 
which they had. 



i 



No. VII. — Circumstances which have occasionally led to the be- 
lief of Spectres and Apparitions. Page 34. 

It is certain that indistinct vision and optical illusions have, in 
many instances, been the sources of terror, and have produced a 
belief of supernatural appearances. When we have no other mode 
of judging of an unknown object but by the angle it forms with 
the eye, its magnitude will uniformly increase in proportion to its 
nearness. If it appears, when at the distance of forty or fifty 
paces, to be only a few feet high, its height when within three or four 
of the eye, will appear to be above forty times greater, or 
many fathoms in dimension. An object of this kind must na- 
turally excite terror and astonishment in the spectator, till he ap- 
proaches and recognises it by actual feeling; for the moment a 
man knows an object, the gigantic appearance it assumed in the 
eye instantly diminishes, and its apparent magnitude is reduced 
to its real dimensions. But if, instead of approaching such an 
object, the spectator flies from it, he can have no other idea of it 
but from the image which it formed in the eye ; and in this case 
he may affirm with truth, that he saw an object terrible in its as- 
pect and enormous in its size. Such illusions frequently occur 
when prisons are walking through desert and unfrequented tracts 
of country, surrounded with a fog, or in the dusk of the evening, 
when a solitary tree, a bush, an old wall, a cairn of stones, a sheep, 
or a cow, may appear as phantoms of a monstrous size. The 
writer of an article in the " Encyclopaedia Britannica" states that 
'• h< was passing the Frith of Forth at Queensferry one morning 
which «i Eua extremely foggy. Though the water is only two miles 
I, and the boat did not get within sight of the southern shore 
till it approached very near it; he then saw, to his great surprise, 
a large perpendicular rock, where he knew the shore was low and 
almo>t fiat. As the boat advanced a little nearer, the rock seemed 
to split perpendicularly into portions, which separated at little dis- 
tances from one another; he next saw these perpendicular divisions 
move, and upon approaching a little nearer, found it was a number 
of people standing on thebeach, waiting the arrival of the ferry-boat*" 



CAUSES OF APPARITIONS. 351 

Opium — Drunkenness — Dreams. 

Spectres are frequent! ij occasioned by opium. Gassendi, the 
philosopher, found a number of people going to put a man to 
death for having intercourse with the devil — a crime which the 
poor wretch readily acknowledged. Gassendi begged of the peo- 
ple that they would permit him first to examine the wizard, before 
putting him to death. They did so, and Gassendi, upon exami- 
nation, found that the man firmly believed himself guilty of this 
impossible crime ; he even offered to Gassendi to introduce him 
to the devil. The philosopher agreed, and when midnight came, 
the man gave him a pill, which he said it was necessary to swallow 
before setting off. Gassendi took the pill, but gave it to his dog ; 
the man, having swallowed his, fell into a profound sleep, during 
which he seemed much agitated by dreams ; the dog was affected 
in a similar manner. When the man awoke he congratulated 
Gassendi on the favourable reception he had met with from his 
sable highness. It was with difficulty Gassendi convinced him 
that the whole was a dream, the effect of soporific medicines, and 
that he had never stirred from one spot during the whole night. 

Drunkenness has also the power of creating apparitions. 
Drunkenness seldom or never excites fear ; and therefore it may 
at first sight seem strange that persons should imagine they see 
ghosts when under the influence of intoxication. But it is ob- 
servable that the ghosts which the drunkard imagines he sees, he 
beholds not with the same terror and alarm as men that are sober ; 
he is not afraid of them ; he has the courage to converse with 
them, and even to fight them, if they give him provocation. Like 
Burns's " Tarn o' Shanter," give him " fair play — he cares na' 
de'ils a bodle." A man, returning home intoxicated, affirmed that 
he had met with the devil ; and that, after a severe encounter, he 
had vanquished him and brought him to the ground, to which he 
had nailed him fast by driving his staff through his body. Next 
morning the staff was found stuck with great violence into a heap 
of turfs ! 

Dreams may be considered as another source of apparitions. 
While the mind is under the influence of a dream, it considers it 
as much a reality as it does any particular action when awake ; 
and, therefore, if a person of a weak superstitious mind should 
have a very lively dream which interests his passions, it may make 
so deep an impression that he may be firmly convinced he has 
actually seen ^ith his eyes what has only passed before his imagi- 
nation ; especially when we consider that there are times of slum- 
ber when we are not sensible of being asleep. On this principle, 
some have endeavoured to account for the spectre which is said 
to have appeared to Brutus. It is related, that at Philippi, the 



352 APPENDIX. 



Brutus'i Vision at Philippi— Fear. 



night before he gave battle to Augustus Csesar, he saw a fearful 
apparition ; it was in the dead of night, when the whole camp was 
perfectly quiet, that Brutus was employed in his tent, in reading 
by a lamp that was just expiring ; on a sudden he thought he 
heard B noise as if somebody entered, and looking towards the 
door, he pereeived it open ; a gigantic figure, with a frightful as- 
pect, stood before him, and continued to gaze upon him with 
silent severity. At last Brutus had courage to speak to it : " Art 
thou a demon or a mortal man? and why comest thou to me?" 
The phantom is said to have replied, " Brutus, I am thy evil 
genius ; thou shalt see me again at Philippi." — " Well, then," an- 
swered Brutus, without being discomposed, V we shall meet 
again ;" upon which the phantom vanished, and Brutus, calling 
to his servants, asked them if they had seen any thing ; to which 
replying in the negative, he again resumed his studies. This 
circumstance is related by historians as a vision; but, consider- 
ing the circumstances, one may easily judge it to have been but 
a short dream : for, sitting in his tent, pensive and troubled with 
the horror of his late rash act, it was not hard for him, slumbering 
in the cold, to dream of that which most affrighted him ; which 
fear, as by degrees it made him wake, so it must have made 
the apparition by degrees to vanish ; and having no assurance 
that he slept, he could have no cause to think it a dream, or any 
thing else than a vision. Whatever may be said as to this solu- 
tion of the case, certain it is that vivid dreams, in certain states 
of mind, have been mistaken for real apparitions, of which various 
instances could be adduced, did our limits permit. 

Fear is another fertile source of spectres. As partial darkness 
and obscurity are the most common circumstances by which the 
sight is deceived, so night is the season in which apparitions are 
most frequently said to be seen. The state of the mind at that 
time, especially when a person is alone, prepares for the admission 
pf such delusions of the imagination. The fear and caution 
which night naturally inspires, the opportunity it affords for am- 
buscades, robberies, and assassinations, the deprivation of social 
intercourse, and the interruption of many pleasing trains of ideas 
which obje< ts in the light never fail to produce, are all circum- 
stances of terror, and favourable to the illusions of a timid ima- 
gination ; and therefore it is by no means strange that an igno- 
rant person, with a mind uncultivated and uninformed, and with 
all the prejudices of the nursery about him, should imagine he 
-• < - ghosts in those placet where he believes they hover, espe- 
cially it the hour of midnight, when the slighest aid of the imagi- 
nation can transform a cow into a monstrous phantom, and the 



CAUSES OF APPARITION. 353 



Anecdote of M. De Thou— of Mr. Schmidt, 



reflection of the beams of the moon from a little water into a ghost 
with a winding-sheet; or a sound which is near, such as the 
rustling of the leaves of a tree, the noise of falling waters, or the 
screams of animals, when referred to a great distance, may be 
magnified into horrid and unearthly voices ; for, in such cases, a 
timid and untutored mind seldom stops to inquire into the cause 
of its alarms. The celebrated historian De Thou had a very 
singular adventure at Saumur, in the year 1598, which shows the 
happy effects of a calm inquiry into the cause of any alarming or 
extraordinary appearance. One night, having retired to rest very 
much fatigued, while he was enjoying a sound sleep, he felt a 
very extraordinary weight upon his feet, which, having made him 
turn suddenly, fell down and awakened. At first he imagined 
that it had been only a dream ; but hearing soon after some noise 
in his chamber, he drew aside the curtains, and saw, -by the help 
of the moon, which at that time shone tery bright, a large white 
figure walking up and down, and at the same time observed upon 
a chair some rags, which he thought belonged to thieves who had 
come to rob him. The figure then approaching his bed, he had 
the courage to ask it what it was. " I am," said the figure, " the 
Queen of Heaven." Had such a figure appeared to any credu- 
lous ignorant man, he would doubtless have trembled with fear, 
and frightened the whole neighbourhood with a marvellous de- 
scription of it. But De Thou had too much understanding to be 
so imposed upon. On hearing the words which dropped from 
the figure, he immediately concluded that it was some mad 
woman, got up, called his servants, and ordered them to turn her 
out of doors ; after which he returned to bed and fell asleep. 
Next morning he found that he had not been deceived in his con- 
jecture, and that having forgot to shut his door, this female figure 
had escaped from her keepers, and entered his apartment. The 
brave Schomberg, to whom De Thou related his adventure some 
days after, confessed that in such a case he would not have shown 
so much courage. The king likewise, who was informed of it by 
Schomberg, made the same acknowledgment. — See Ency. Brit., 
Art. Spectre. 

The following relation contains a description of an apparition 
of a different kind, no less appalling. Mr. Schmidt, mathematical 
teacher at the school of Pforte, near Naumburg, which had for- 
merly been a cloister, once happened to awake suddenly as the 
morning began to dawn. On opening his eyes, he beheld with 
astonishment a monk standing at the foot of his bed. Looking 
at him steadfastly, he appeared to be well-fed ; and his head, far 
from small, was sunk a little between a pair of very broad shoul- 
30* 



354 APPENDIX. 



Apparition of I Mook. 



d< rs. The chamber was sufficiently Becured ; Mr. Schmidt alone 
slept in it ; and he was very certain that no one would attempt to 
put a trick upon him in jest. He knew also that no part of his 
clothes or any thing else was han ging at his bed's loot. The 
figure exact!} resembled that of a monk, clothed in a white sur- 
plice, the falling folds of which were very clearly to be dis- 
tinguished. Had an ignorant and timid man beheld this appear- 
ance', he would probably have covered himself up with the bed- 
clothes, and firmly maintained that the ghost of a monk had 
appeared to him. As the school had formerly been a cloister, 
many monks had been buried both in the church and church-yard, 
and it was currently reported among the vulgar that the place was 
haunted. Mr. Schmidt, however, was neither ignorant nor timid, 
and he immediately conjectured that his eyes were deceived, 
though he could not imagine in what manner. He raised him- 
self up a little in his bed, but the apparition did not move ; he only 
saw somewhat more of it, and the folds of the surplice were still 
more conspicuous. After a little while he moved towards the 
right, yet the apparition remained, and he seemed to have in part 
a side view of it ; but as soon as he had moved his head so far as 
to have a slight glimpse of the bed's foot, the apparition retreated 
backwards, though still with its face to the bed. Following the 
apparition quickly with his eyes, it retreated with speed, swelled 
as it retreated to a gigantic form, a rustling noise was heard, and 
— at once the apparition was changed into the gothic window 
with white curtains which was opposite the bed's foot, and about 
six or seven feet distance from it. Several times after this, Mr. 
Schmidt endeavoured w T hen he awoke to see the same appearance, 
but to no purpose, the window always looking like a window only. 
Some weeks after, however, on awaking, as the day began to 
dawn, he again perceived the monk's apparition at the bed's foot. 
B< ing now aware what occasioned it, he examined it narrowly. 
The great arch of the window formed the monk's shoulders, a 
smaller arch in the centre of this his head, and the curtains the 
surplice. The folds of these appeared much stronger than they 
did at the same distance by daylight. Thus the figure of the 
monk appeared plainer, nearer, and smaller than the window 
would have done. This apparition, therefore, like hundreds" of 
others, was merely an optical deception. The reader will 'find a 
more particular description of it, with an optical and mathematical 
explanation of the phenomenon, in vol. i. of "The Pleasing Pre- 
ceptor," translated from the German of Gerhard Ulrich Anthony 
Vieth. 

Another cause of apparitions, and of the belief in supernatural 



CAUSES OF APPARITIONS. 355 

- - a 

Extraordinary Deceptions practised at Woodstock. 

appearances, is to be found in the artifices and collusions of im- 
postors, and the tricks of the waggish. Dr. Plot, in his Natural 
History of Oxfordshire, relates a marvellous story which will 
illustrate this position. Soon after the murder of King Charles I. 
a commision was appointed to survey the king's house at Wood- 
stock, with the manor, park, woods, and other demesnes belong- 
ing to that manor. One Collins, under a feigned name, hired 
himself as secretary to the commissioners, who, upon the 13th 
October, 1649, met, and took up their residence in the king's 
own rooms. His majesty's bed-chamber they made their kitchen, 
the council-hall their pantry, and the presence-chamber was the 
place where they met for the despatch of business. His majesty's 
dining-room they made their wood-yard, and stored it with the 
wood of the famous royal oak from the High Park, which, that 
nothing might be left with the name of king about it, they had 
dug up by the roots, and split and bundled up into faggots for 
their firing. Things being thus prepared, they sat on the 16th 
for the despatch of business ; and, in the midst of their first de- 
bate, there entered a large black dog (as they thought,) which 
made a dreadful howling, overturned two or three of their chairs, 
and then crept under a bed and vanished. This gave them the 
greater surprise as the doors were kept constantly locked, so that 
no real dog could get in or out. The next day their surprise 
was increased, when, sitting at dinner in a lower room, they heard 
plainly the noise of persons walking over their heads, though they 
well knew the doors were all locked, and there could be nobody 
there. Presently after, they heard also all the wood of the king's 
oak brought by parcels from the dining-room, and thrown with 
great violence into the presence-chamber, as also all the chairs, 
stools, tables, and other furniture forcibly hurled about the room ; 
their papers, containing the minutes of their transactions, were 
torn, and the ink-glass broken. When all this noise had ceased, 
Giles Sharp, their secretary, proposed to enter first into these 
rooms ; and in presence of the commissioners, from whom he 
received the key, he opened the doors, and found the wood spread 
about the room, the chairs tossed about and broken, the papers 
torn, but not the least track of any human creature, nor the least 
reason to suspect one, as the doors were all fast, and the keys in 
the custody of the commissioners. It was therefore unanimously 
agreed that the power that did this mischief must have entered at 
the key-hole. The night following, Sharp, the secretary, with 
two of the commissioners' servants, as they were in bed in the 
same room, which room was contiguous to that where the com- 
missioners lay, had their bed's feet lifted up so much higher than 



APPENDIX. 



Extraordinary Deceptions | W >lstock. 



r beads, that they expected to have their necks broken, and 
then they h ere let faU at once with so much violence as shook the 
whole house, and more than ever terrified the commissioners. 
On the night ofthe 19th, as they were all in bed in the same room 

greater safety, and lights burping by (hem, the candles in an 
instant went out with a sulphurous smell, and. (hat moment many 
trenchers of wood were burled about the room, which next morn- 
ing were found to be the same their honours had eaten out of the 
day b which were all removed from the pantry, though not a 

lock was found opened in the whole house. The next night they 
third still worse ; the candles went out as before, the curtains of 
their honours- beds were rattled to and fro with great violence, 
they received many cruel blows and bruises by eight great pewter 
tnd a number of wooden trenchers being thrown on their 

. which, being heaved off, were heard rolling about the room, 
though in the morning none of these were to be seen. 

The next night the keeper ofthe king's house and his dog lay 
to the commissioners' room, and then they had no disturbance. 
But on the night ofthe 22d, though the dog lay in the room as 
before, yet the candles went out, a number of brickbats fell from 
the chimney into the room, the dog howled piteous!) 7 , their bed- 
clothes were all stripped off, and their (error increased. On the 
24th they thought all the wood of the king's oak was violently 
thrown down by their bedsides ; they counted sixty-four billets 
that fell, and some hit and shook the beds in which they lay ; but 
in the morning none was found there, nor had the door been 
opened where the billet-wood was kept. The next night the 
candles were put out, the curtains rattled, and a dreadful crack, 

thunder, was heard ; and one of the servants running in 

. thinking his master was killed, found three dozen of tren- 

- laid smoothly under the quilt by him. But all this was 
nothing to what succeeded afterward. The 29th, about midnight, 
the candles went out, something walked majestically through the 
room, and opened and shut the windows ; great stones were 

vn violently into the room, some of which fell on the beds, 
>r : and at about a quarter after one, a noise was 

! as of forty cannon discharged together, and again repeated 
at about eight minutes' interval. This alarmed and raised all the 
neighbourhood, who, coming into their honours' room, gathered 

re in number, and laid them by in the 
corner of a fi< Id, where, in Dr. Plot's time, they were to be seen. 
This noise like the discharge of cannon was heard over the 
country for eh vi ral miles round. During these noises the com- 
: DISS loners and their servants gave one another over for lost, and 



CAUSES OF APPARITIONS. 357 

Extraordinary Deceptions practised at Woodstock. 

cried out for help ; and Giles Sharp, snatching up a sword, had 
well nigh killed one of their honours, mistaking him for the spirit, 
as he came in his shirt from his own room to theirs. While they 
were together the noise was continued, and part of the tiling of 
the house was stripped off, and all the windows of an upper room 
were taken away with it. On the 30th, at midnight, something 
walked into the chamber, treading like a bear ; it walked many 
times about, then threw the warming-pan violently on the floor ; 
at the same time a large quantity of broken glass, accompanied 
with great stones and horse bones, came pouring into the room 
with uncommon force. On the 1st of November the most dread- 
ful scene of all ensued. Candles in every part of the room were 
lighted up, and a great fire made ; at midnight, the candles all 
yet burning, a noise like the bursting of a cannon was heard in 
the room, and the burning billets were tossed about by it even 
into their honours' beds, who called Giles and his companions to 
their relief, otherwise the house had been burned to the ground : 
about an hour after, the candles went out as usual, the crack as 
of many cannon was heard, and many pailfuls of green stinking 
water were thrown upon their honours' beds ; great stones were 
also thrown in as before, the bed-curtains and bedsteads torn 
and broken, the windows shattered, and the whole neighbourhood 
alarmed with the most dreadful noises ; nay, the very rabbit- 
stealers that were abroad that night in the warren were so terrified 
that they fled for fear, and left their ferrets behind them. One 
of their honours this night spoke, and in the name of God asked 
what it ivas, and why it disturbed them so ? No answer was given 
to this ; but the noise ceased for a while, when the spirit came 
again ; and, as they all agreed, brought with it seven devils worse 
than itself. One of the servants now lighted a large candle, and 
set it in the doorway between the two chambers, to see what 
passed ; and as he watched it, he plainly saw a hoof striking the 
candle and candlestick into the middle of the room, and afterward 
making three scrapes over the snuff, scraped it out. Upon this 
the same person was so bold as to draw a sword ; but he had 
scarce got it out when he felt another invisible hand holding it too, 
and pulling it from him, and at length prevailing, struck him so 
violently on the head with the pummel that he fell down for dead 
with the blow. At this instant was heard another burst like the 
discharge of the broadside of a ship of war, and at the interval of 
a minute or two between* each, no less than nineteen such dis- 
charges. These shook the house so violently that they expected 
every moment it would fall upon their heads. The neighbours, 
being all alarmed, flocked to the house in great numbers, and all 



358 ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 

Ventriloquism— -Louia Brabant. 



joined in prayer and psalm-singing ; during which the noise con- 
tinued iii the other rooms, and the discharge of cannons was 
heard as from \\ ii hout, though no visible agent was seen to dis- 
charge them. But what was the most alarming of all, and putan 
end to their proceedings effectually, happened the next day, as 
they were all at dinner, v. hen a paper in which they had signed a 
mutual agreement to n serve a part of the premises out of the 
genera] survey, and afterward to share it equally among themselves 
(which paper they had hid for the present under the earth in a pot 
in one corner of the room, and in which an orange-tree grew,) 
was consumed in a wonderful manner by the earth's taking fire 
with which the pot was tilled, and burning violently, with a blue 
flame and an intolerable stench, so that they were all driven out 
of the house, to which they could never be again prevailed upon 
to return. 

This story has been somewhat abridged from the Encyclopae- 
dia Britannica, where it is quoted from Dr. Plot's history. If I 
recollect right, it is imbodied in the book entitled " Satan's Invisi- 
ble World Discovered," and the extraordinary occurrences it re- 
lates ascribed to satanic influence. At the time they happened, 
they were viewed as the effects of supernatural powers ; and even 
Dr. Plot seems disposed to ascribe them to this cause. " Though 
many tricks," says the doctor, " have been often played in affairs 
of this kind, many of the things above related are not reconcila- 
ble with juggling ; such as the loud noises beyond the powers of 
man to make without such instruments as were not there — the 
tearing and breaking the beds — the throwing about the fire — the 
hoof treading out the candle — and the striving for the sword, and 
the blow the man received from the pummel of it." It was at 
length a scertaincd, however, that this wonderful contrivance was 
all the invention of the memorable Joseph Collins of Oxford, 
otherwise called Funny Jo, who, having hired himself as secre- 
tary under the name of Giles Sharp, by knowing the private traps 
belonging to the house, and by the help of pulvis fuhninans and 
other chymical preparations, and letting his fellow-servants into 
the sell* in . d on the deceit without discovery to the very 

Veni another source whence a belief of apparitions 

has bto By this art, certain persons can so modify 

their voice as to make itappear to the audience to proceed from 
aiiv distanqa and in any direction, and by which impostors have 
Mipliahed their nefarious designs, of which the 
following are in 3J 

Louis Brabant, a dexterous ventriloquist, valet-de-chambre to 



VENTRILOQUISM. 359 



Story of Louis Brahant. 



Francis L, had fallen desperately in love with a young, hand- 
some, and rich heiress ; but was rejected by the parents as an 
unsuitable match for their daughter, on account of the lowness 
of his circumstances. The young lady's father dying, he made 
a visit to the widow, who was totally ignorant of his singular 
talent. Suddenly, on his first appearance in open day, in her own 
house, and in the presence of several persons who were with her, 
she heard herself accosted in a voice perfectly resembling that of 
her dead husband, and which seemed to proceed from above, 
exclaiming, " Give my daughter in marriage to Louis Brahant. 
He is a man of great fortune, and of an excellent character. I 
now suffer the inexpressible torments of purgatory for having re- 
fused her to him. If you obey this admonition, I shall soon be 
delivered from this place of torment. You will at the same time 
provide a worthy husband for your daughter, and procure ever- 
lasting repose to the soul of your poor husband." The widow 
could not for a moment resist this dreadful summons, which had 
not the most distant appearance of proceeding from Louis Bra- 
hant, whose countenance exhibited no visible change, and whose 
lips were close and motionless during the delivery of it. Ac- 
cordingly, she consented immediately to receive him for her son- 
in-law. Louis's finances, however, were in a very low situation, 
and the formalities attending the marriage-contract rendered it 
necessary for him to exhibit some show of riches, and not to give 
the ghost the lie direct. He accordingly went to work on a fresh 
subject, one Cornu, an old and rich banker at Lyons, who had ac- 
cumulated immense wealth by usury and extortion, and was 
known to be haunted by remorse of conscience on account of the 
manner in which he had acquired it. Having contracted an inti- 
mate acquaintance with this man, he, one day, while they were 
sitting together in the usurer's little back parlour, artfully turned 
the conversation on religious subjects, on demons, and spectres, 
the pains of purgatory, and the torments of hell. During an in- 
terval of silence between them, a voice was heard, which to the 
astonished banker, seemed to be that of his deceased father, 
complaining, as in the former case, of his dreadful situation in 
purgatory, and calling upon him to deliver him instantly from 
thence, by putting into the hands of Louis Brahant, then with him, 
a large sum for the redemption of Christians then in slavery with 
the Turks ; threatening him at the same time with eternal damna- 
tion if he did not take this method to expiate, likewise, his own 
sins. Louis Brahant, of course, affected a due degree of asto- 
nishment on the occasion, and further promoted the deception by 
acknowledging his having devoted himself to the prosecution of 



360 APPENDIX. 



Story Of LOUIS Brilliant— of M. St. Gill. 



the charitable designs imputed to him by the ghost An old usurer 
is naturally suspicious. Accordingly! the wary banker made a 
Second appointment with the ghost's delegate for the next day : 
and to render any design of imposing upon him utterly abortive, 
took him into the open fields, where not a house, or a tree, or 
oven a hush, or a pit were in sight, capable of screening any sup- 
posed confederate. This extraordinary caution excited the ven- 
triloquist to exert all the powers of his art. Wherever the ban- 
ker conducted him, at every step his ears were saluted on all 
sides with the complaints and groans, not only of his father, but 
of all his deceased relations, imploring him for the love of God, 
and in the name of every saint in the calender, to have mercy 
on his own soul and theirs, by effectually seconding with his 
purse the intentions of his worthy companion. Cornu could no 
longer resist the voice of Heaven, and accordingly carried his 
guest home with him, and paid him down ten thousand crowns ; 
with which the honest ventriloquist returned to Paris, and married 
his mistress. The catastrophe was fatal. The secret was after- 
ward blown, and reached the usurer's ears, who was so much af- 
fected by the loss of his money and the mortifying railleries of his 
neighbours, that he took to his bed and died. 

Another trick of a similar kind was played off about sixty or 
seventy years ago on a whole community by another French 
ventriloquist. " M. St. Gill, the ventriloquist, and his intimate 
friend, returning home from a place whither his business had 
carried him, sought for shelter from an approaching thunder-storm 
in a neighbouring convent. Finding the whole community in 
mourning, he inquired the cause, and was told that one of the body 
had died lately, who was the ornament and delight of the whole 
society. To pass away the time, he walked into the church, at- 
tended by some of the religious, who showed him the tomb of their 
deceased brother, and spoke feelingly of the scanty honours they 
had bestowed on his memory. Suddenly a voice was heard, ap- 
parently proceeding from the roof of the choir, lamenting the 
situation of the defunct in purgatory, and reproaching the brother- 
hood with their lukewarmness and want of zeal on his account. 
The friars, as soon as their astonishment gave them power to 
speak, consulted together, and agreed to acquaint the rest of the 
community with this singular event, so interesting to the whole 
society. HL St. Gil), who wished to carry on the joke a little 
farther, dissuaded them from taking this step, telling them that they 
would be treated by their absent brethren as a set of fools and 
visionaries. He recommended to them, however, the immediately 
Calling the whole community into the church, where the ghost 



VENTRILOQUISM. 361 



Signification of the Term. 



of their departed brother might probably reiterate his complaints. 
Accordingly, all the friars, novices, lay-brothers, and even the do- 
mestics of the convent, were immediately summoned and called 
together. In a short time the voice from the roof renewed its 
lamentations and reproaches, and the whole convent fell on their 
faces, and vowed a solemn reparation. As a first step, they 
chanted a De profundis in a full choir ; during the intervals of 
which the ghost occasionally expressed the comfort he receiv- 
ed from their pious exercises and ejaculations on his behalf. 
When all was over, the prior entered into a serious conversation 
with M. St. Gill ; and on the strength of what had just passed, 
sagaciously inveighed against the absurd incredulity of our mo- 
dern skeptics and pretended philosophers, on the article of ghosts 
or apparitions. M. St. Gill thought it high time to disabuse the 
good fathers. This purpose, however, he found it extremely 
difficult to effect, till he had prevailed upon them to return with 
him into the church, and there be witnesses of the manner in which 
he had conducted this ludicrous deception." Had not the ven- 
triloquist, in this case, explained the cause of the deception, a 
whole body of men might have sworn, with a good conscience, 
that they had heard the ghost of a departed brother address them 
again and again in a supernatural voice. 

It is highly probable that many of those persons termed witches 
and necromancers in ancient times, who pretended to be invested 
with supernatural powers, performed their deceptions by the art 
of ventriloquism. The term literally means, speaking from the 
belly ; and, in accordance with this idea, we find that the Pytho- 
ness, or witch of Endor, to whom Saul applied for advice in his 
perplexity, is designated in the Septuagint translation of the Old 
Testament, u a woman that speaks from her belly or stomach," 
as most magicians affected to do ; and some authors have in- 
formed us that there were women who had a demon which spake 
articulately from the lower part of their stomachs, in a very loud, 
though hoarse tone. Umbrse cum sagana resonarent triste et 
acutum. — Hor. Sat. viii. lib. i. 

Our English translation " familiar spirit," in Hebrew signifies 
44 the spirit of 06, or Oboth." The word 06, in its primitive 
sense, denotes a bottle or vessel of leather wherein liquors were 
put ; and it is not unlikely that this name was given to witches, 
because in their fits of enthusiasm they swelled in their bellies 
like a bottle. The occasion of this swelling is said by some 
authors to proceed from a demon's entering into the sorceress 
per partes genitales, and so ascending to the bottom of her 
stomach, from whence, at that time, she uttered her predictions ; 
31 



362 



APPENDIX, 



Phantasmagoria— Ghosl ofa Flea. 



and for this reason the Latins call such persons Venlriloqui, and 
the Greeks f^vfloi, thai is, people who speak out of their 

bellies, Cselius Rhodiginus (Antiq. lib. 8, c. 10) says, in refer- 
ence to such cases, " While 1 am writing concerning ventrilo- 
quous persons, there is in my own country a woman of a mean 
extract who has an unclean spirit in her belly, from whence may 
be heard a voice, not very strong indeed, but very articulate and 
intelligible. Multitudes of people have heard this voice, as well 
as myself, and all imaginable precaution has been used in examin- 
ing into the truth of this fact:" — " Quando futuri avida portentus 
mens, Bsepe accersitum ventriloquam, ac exutam amictu, ne quid 
fraudis occuitaret, inspectare et audire concupivit." The author 
adds, " This demon is called Cincinnalulus, and when the woman 
calls upon him by his name, he immediately answers her." Several 
ancient writers have informed us, that in the times of paganism 
evil spirits had communion with these ventriloquce per paries 
secreliores. Chrysostom says, " Traditur Pythia fcemina fuisse, 
quae in Tripodes sedens expansa malignum spihtum per interna 
immissum, et per genitales partes subeuntem excipiens, furore 
repleretur, ipsaque resolutis crinibus baccharetur, ex ore spumam 
omittens, et sic furoris verba loquebatur," &c. 

Spectres have also been produced by such optical exhibitions as 
the phantasmagoria. By means of this instrument, a spectre can 
be made apparently to start up from a white mist, and to rush 
forward towards the spectator with an horrific aspect. If a thin 
screen were placed in a dark room, and the lantern of the phan- 
tasmagoria with its light properly concealed, the most terrific 
phantoms might be exhibited, which would confound and appal 
( very one previously unacquainted with the contrivance, espe- 
cially if the exhibition was suddenly made at the dead hour of 
night By means of such exhibitions, combined with the art of 
ventriloquism and the assistance of a confederate, almost every 
thing that has been recorded respecting spectres and apparitions 
might be realized. 

I shall conclude these illustrations of apparitions by presenting 
the reader with a description of the ghost of a flea, by Mr. Varley, 
formerly alluded to, as a specimen of the folly and superstition 
that -till degrade the present age. 

" With respect to the vision of the ghost of the flea, as seen 
by Mr. Blake, it agrees in countenance with one class of people 
under Gemini, which sign is the significator of the flea, whose 
brown colour is appropriate to the colour of the eyes in some full- 
toned Gemini persons, and the neatness, elasticity, and tenseness 
of the flea are significant of the elegant dancing and fencing sign 



GHOST OF A FLEA. 363 



Account of its Appearance, &c. 



Gemini. The spirit visited his imagination in such a figure as 
he never anticipated in an insect. As I was anxious to make 
the most correct investigation in my power of the truth of these 
visions, on hearing of this spiritual apparition of a flea, I asked 
him if he could draw for me the resemblance of what he saw. 
He instantly said, ' I see him now before me.' I therefore gave 
him paper and a pencil, with which he drew the portrait, of which 
a fac-simile is given in this number. I felt convinced by his 
mode of proceeding that he had a real image before him ; for he 
left off and began on another part of the paper to make a separate 
drawing of the mouth of the flea, which the spirit having opened, 
he was prevented from proceeding with the first sketch till he 
had closed it. During the time occupied in completing the 
drawing, the flea told him that all fleas were inhabited by the 
souls of such men as were by nature bloodthirsty to excess, and 
were therefore providentially confined to the size and form of such 
insects ; otherwise, were he himself, for instance, the size of a 
horse, he would depopulate a great part of the country. He added, 
that, 4 if in attempting to leap from one island to another, he should 
fall into the sea, he could swim, and could not be lost.' This 
spirit afterward appeared to Blake, and afforded him a view of his 
whole figure, an engraving of which I shall give in this work." 

N. B. — Blake, who died only two or three years ago, vvas an 
ingenious artist, who illustrated Blair's Grave and other works, 
and, was so much of an enthusiast, that he imagined he could call 
up from the vasty deep any spirits or corporeal forms. Were it 
not a fact that a work entitled " Zodiacal Physiognomy," written 
by John Yarley, and illustrated with engravings, was actually 
published in the year 1828, by Longman & Co M we should have 
deemed it almost impossible that, amid the light of the present 
age, any man capable of writing a grammatical sentence would 
seriously give such a description as that quoted above, and attach 
his belief to such absurdity and nonsense. But amid all our 
boasted scientific improvements and discoveries, it appears that 
the clouds of ignorance and superstition still hang over a large 
body of our population, and that the light of the millennial era, if 
it have yet dawned, is still far from its meridian splendour. 

After what has been now stated respecting the circumstances 
which may have led to the popular belief of spectres and appari- 
tions, it would be almost needless to spend time in illustrating 
the futility of such a belief. There is one strong objection against 
the probability of apparitions, and that is, that they scarcely ap- 
pear to be intelligent creatures, or, at least, that they possess so 



364 APPENDIX. 



Account of i\\< I ! 



small a degree of intelligence thai they arc unqualified to act with 
prud< nee, or to use the means requisite to accomplish an end. 
G ti are said often to appear in order to discover some crime 
thai had be< n committed ; but they never appear to a magistrate 
or some person of authority and intelligence, but to some illiterate 
clown who happens to live near tin 1 place where the crime was 
committed — to some person who has no connexion at all with the 
affair, and who, in general, is the most improper person in the 
world for making the discovery. Glanville, who wrote in defence 
of witchcraft and apparitions, relates, for instance, the following 
story : M James Haddock, a farmer, was married to Elenor 
Welsh, by whom he had a son. After the death of Haddock, 
his wife married one Davis, and both agreed to defraud the son 
by the former marriage of a lease bequeathed to him by his father. 
I pen this the ghost of Haddock appeared to one Francis Taver- 
ner, the servant of Lord Chichester, and desired him to go to 
nor Welsh, and to inform her that it was the will of her former 
husband that their son should enjoy the lease. Taverner did not 
at first execute this commission, but he was continually haunted 
by the apparition in the most hideous shapes, which even threaten- 
ed to tear him in pieces, till at last he delivered the message." 
Now, had this spectre possessed the least common sense, it would 
d first to Elenor Welsh and her husband Davis, and 
Brightened them into compliance at once, and not have kept poor 
Taverner, who had no concern in the matter, in such constant 
disquietude and alarm. 

Another odd circumstance respecting apparitions is, that they 

have no power to speak till they are addressed. In Glanville's 

relations, we read of an old woman that appeared often to David 

Hunter, a neat-herd, at the house of the bishop of Down. TYhen- 

ever she appeared, he found himself obliged to follow her; and 

i hree-quarters of a year, poor David spent the whole of almost 

every night in scampering up and down through the woods after 

/oman. How long this extraordinary employment might 

.tinned it is impossible to guess, had not David's violent 

1 him one night exclaim, " Lord bless me ! — would I 

. — shall 1 never he delivered from this n iseiy?" On 

which the phantom replied, " Lord bless me too ! — It was happy 

von spoke first, for till then I had no power to speak, though I 

i d yon so long !" Then she gave him a message to 

her two sons, though David told her he remembered nothing 

about her. David, it seems, neglected to deliver the message, 

at which the old beldam was SO much provoked that she returned 

:in i hearty blow on the shoulder, which made him cry 



ABSURDITIES OF WITCHCRAFT. 365 

Folly of the vulgar Belief in Apparitions. 



oat and then speak to her. Now, if she could not speak till 
David addressed her, why might she not have applied this orato- 
rial medicine the first time she appeared to him 1 It would have 
saved both herself and him many a weary journey, and certainly 
David would much rather have had half a dozen blows from her 
choppy fists, than have wanted so many nights' sleep. To com- 
plete the story, it must be added, that when David's wife found 
it impossible to keep him from following the troublesome visiter, 
she trudged after him, but was never gratified with a sight of the 
enchantress. — See Ency. Brit., Art. Spectre. 

What imaginable purpose can be served by such dumb spectres 
that cannot speak till they are addressed, or by sending appari- 
tions from the invisible world that appear destitute of common 
sense 1 It is remarked by Glanville, that ghosts are generally 
very eager to be gone ; and, indeed, they are frequently so much 
so, that, like children and thoughtless fools; they do not stay to 
tell their errand. It appears altogether inconsistent with any 
rational or scriptural ideas of the overruling providence of the 
Almighty, to suppose that such beings would be selected for admi- 
nistering the affairs of his kingdom, and for maintaining an inter- 
course between the visible and invisible worlds. It is also stated 
to be one peculiarity of spectres that they appear only in the nighU 
But if they are sent to this sublunary region on affairs of impor- 
tance, why should they be afraid of the light of the sun ? In the 
light of day their message would be delivered with as much ease, 
and with more chance of success. As it would excite less fear, 
it would be listened to with more calmness and attention ; and 
were they to exhibit themselves before a number of intelligent 
witnesses in the full blaze of day, the purposes for which they 
were sent would be more speedily and securely accomplished. 
The celestial messengers whose visits are recorded in Scripture, 
apppeared most frequently during the light of day, and communi- 
cated their messages, in many instances, to a number of indivi- 
duals at once — messages which were of the utmost importance to 
the individuals addressed, and even to mankind at large. To 
give credit, therefore, to the popular stories respecting ghosts and 
apparitions imbodies in it a reflection on the character of the All- 
wise Ruler of the world, and a libel on the administrations of his 
moral government. 

No. VIII. — Explosions of Steam-engines. Page 53, 142. 

As steam-engines are now applied to the purpose of impelling 
vessels along seas and rivers, as well as to many important manu* 
31* 



306 APPENDIX. 



Accid< nta from Steamn n 



facturing processes, and are capable of still more extensive ap- 
plications, and of higher improvements than they have yet. attained 
— it is of the utmost importance that every circumstance should 
be carefully guarded against which has the remotest tendency to 
endanger the bursting of the boiler, — and that no person be in- 
trusted with the direction of such engines who is not distinguished 
for prudence and caution, or who is unacquainted with their con- 
non and the principle of their operation. For, to ignoranee 
and imprudence are to be ascribed many of those accidents which 
happened from the bursting of the boilers of these engines. 
Tins remark is strikingly illustrated by the following and many 
other tragical occurrences : — 

In the month of August, 1815, the following melancholy acci- 
dent happened at Messrs. Nesham and Co.'s colliery at New- 
hot To. The proprietors had formed a powerful locomotive steam- 
engine for the purpose of drawing ten or twelve coal wagons to 
staith at one time ; and on the day it was to be put in motion, 
a great number of persons belonging to' the colliery collected to 
see it ; but, unfortunately, just as it was going off, the boiler of 
the machine burst. The engine-man was dashed to pieces, and 
his mangled remains blown 114 yards. The top of the boiler, 
nine feet scpiare, weighing nineteen hundred weight, was blown 
100 vards, and the two cylinders 90 yards. A little boy was 
also thrown to a great distance. By this accident fifty-seven per- 
sons were killed and wounded, of whom eleven died on Sunday 
night ; several remaining dangerously ill. The cause of the acci- 
dent is accounted for as follows : — The engine-man said, " Jis 
there are several owners and viewers here, I will wake her (the en- 
gine ] go in grand style ,-" and he had scarcely got upon the boiler 
to loose the screw of the safety valve, when, being overheated, 
it exploded. — Monthly Magazine, yo\. xl. p. 181. 

From what is here stated, it appears that this tragical accident 
was occasioned by a combination of vanity, ignorance, and im- 
prudence in the prison to whom the direction of the engine was 
committed. — The following accident which happened to the 
Washington steamboat, belonging to Wheeling, N. America, is 
attributed to a somewhat similar cause. 

M This boat started from Wheeling on Monday, June 10th, 
1816, and arrived at Marietta on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock, 
and came safely to anchor, where; she remained till Wednesday 
morning. The fires had hem kindled, and the boilers sufficiently 
hot, preparatory to her departure, when the anchor was weighed 
and the helm put to larboard, in order to wear her in a position to 
start her machinery ; but only having one of her rudders shipped 



EXPLOSION OF STEAM-ENGINES. 367 

Accidents in America. 



at the time, its influence was not sufficient to have the desired 
effect, and she immediately shot over under the Virginia shore, 
where it was found expedient to throw over the hedge at the stern 
to effect it. This being accomplished, the crew were then re- 
quired to haul it on board, and were nearly all collected in the 
quarter for that purpose. At this unhappy fatal moment, the end 
of the cylinder towards the stern exploded, and threw the whole 
contents of hot water among them, and spread death and torture 
in every direction. The captain, mate, and several seamen were 
knocked overboard, but were saved, with the exception of one 
man, by boats from the town, and by swimming to the shore. 
The whole town was alarmed by the explosion, and all the physi- 
cians, with a number of citizens, went immediately to their relief. 
On going on board, a melancholy and truly horrible scene was 
presented to view. Six or eight persons were nearly skinned 
from head to foot, and others scalded, making in the whole seven- 
teen. In stripping off their clothes the skin peeled off with them 
to a considerable depth. Added to this melancholy sight, the 
ears of the pitying spectators were pierced by the screams and 
groans of the agonizing sufferers, rendering the scene horrible 
beyond description. 

44 The cause of this melancholy catastrophe may be accounted 
for by the cylinder not having vent through the safety valve, 
which was firmly stopped by the weight which hung on the lever 
having been unfortunately slipped to its extreme, without its being 
noticed, and the length of time occupied in wearing before her 
machinery could be set in motion, whereby the force of the steam 
would have been expended ; these two causes united confined 
the steam till the strength of the cylinders could no longer con- 
tain it, and gave way with great violence. Six of the unfortunate 
sufferers died on Wednesday night, and one or two others are 
not expected to survive." — Louisiana Gazette and New-Orleans 
Mercantile Advertiser, July 8th, 1816. 

Since the above accidents happened, many others of a similar 
nature have occurred, which have ultimately been ascertained to 
have been owing either to ignorance or to carelessness and inat- 
tention, which are the natural results of ignorance. As steam- 
boats are now navigating all our friths and rivers, and even 
ploughing the ocean itself; and as steam-carriages are likely 
soon to come into general use for the conveyance of passengers 
and goods, it is of the utmost importance to their success, and to 
the safety of the public, that every precaution be adopted to pre- 
vent those explosions and disarrangements of the machinery, 
which might be attended with fatal effects. But although science 



36* APPENDIX, 



Accidents in America— England. 



and art may accomplish all thai seems requisite for the preven- 
tion of danger, unless persons of prudence and intelligence be 
obtain* d for the superintendi nee and direction of such machines, 
the ( (Torts of their projectors i<> prevent accidents may prove 
abortive. And until the tone of intellect among the middling and 
lower orders be somewbat more elevated than it is at present, it 
may be difficult to obtain persons for this purpose of the requisite 
qualifications. 

The following recent accidents from steamboat explosions in 
all probability originated from causes similar to those to which I 
have now alluded. 

The boiler of the steamboat Caledonia, plying on the Missis- 
sippi, exploded on the 11th of April, 1830, killing and wounding 
about fifteen of the passengers and seven of the crew, — seven 
or eight of whom were blown overboard and lost. It was expect- 
ed that some of the wounded would recover, although badly 
scalded. The boiler burst in the side while the boat was under 
way, and about two hours after being wooded. There were on 
board about four hundred deck and sixty cabin passengers, besides 
the crew, being altogether about five hundred souls. The hull 
of the boat Mas uninjured. It is said that the accident arose from 
the passengers crowding to one side of the boat, by which one 
side of the boiler was exposed to the direct action of the fire, and 
when the boat righted, a quantity of steam was suddenly gene- 
rated greater than the safety valve could carry off. — The number 
of persons who have lost their lives by explosions in America, 
since the commencement of the season (1830), is not much short 
of one hundred, — sixty in the Helen JWacgregor, four in the 
Huntress, nine in the Justice Marshall, and fourteen in the 
Caledonia, besides those of the latter who, it was feared, would 
not recover from the injuries they had sustained. 

In these and other instances, it is more than probable that a 
want of attention to the natural laics of the universe, and to the 
obvious effects which an enlightened mind should foresee they 
would produce, was the chief cause of the destruction of so many 
human beings, and of the sufferings of those whose lives were 
preserved. The same remark maybe applied to the circum- 
stances connected with a. late fatal accident which happened on 
the Liverpool and Manchester rail-road. 

On Friday afternoon, February 1, 1833, as the second-class 
train, which haves Liverpool at three o'clock, was proceeding 
over Pan Rtoss, ;i little on the other side of Newton, one of the 
tub* s which passes longitudinally through the boiler, burst. The 
consequence was, that a quantity of water fell into the fire, steam 



EXPLOSION OF STEAM-ENGINES. 369 

Liverpool and Manchester Railway. 

was generated in abundance, and the engine stopped. Several 
of the passengers alighted to see what was the matter, and they 
incautiously got upon the line of railway taken by the trains in 
going to Liverpool, — the contrary to that on which the disabled 
engine stood. While they were in this situation, a train of wa- 
gons from Bolton, proceeding to Liverpool, came up. The per- 
sons who had alighted did not see the advancing train, being en- 
veloped in a dense cloud of vapour ; and, from the same cause, 
they were by the conductor also unseen. They accordingly came 
upon them with fearful violence ; several were knocked down, 
and the wheels of the train passed over four of them. Three of 
the unfortunate party were killed upon the spot — their bodies 
being dreadfully crushed ; the fourth survived, and was taken 
forward to the infirmary, but his recovery was considered hope- 
less. Two of the three killed were elderly persons, whose names 
were unknown ; the third, an interesting young man, who had 
formerly been in the employ of the company as a fireman, and 
who was married only three weeks before. The survivor was a 
boy, about sixteen years of age, who was proceeding from Bel- 
fast to Halifax, where his parents reside. The casualty which 
was the occasion of this serious result was itself but trifling, as 
the train went forward to Manchester after a short delay. 

This shocking catastrophe was evidently caused by rashness 
and imprudence — by not foreseeing what might probably arise 
from a certain combination of circumstances ; or in other words, 
by inattention to certain natural laws, both on the part of those 
who were connected with the Liverpool train of wagons and of 
those who conducted the Bolton train. In regard to the passen- 
gers in the Liverpool train, it was highly improper that they 
should have left their seats on the carriage. The accident which 
befell the unfortunate Mr. Huskisson, at the opening of the rail- 
way, should have operated as an impressive warning against such 
a practice. In the next place, it was most imprudent to venture 
upon the other line of railway, more especially when a cloud of 
steam prevented them from seeing what was passing around 
them. In regard to the person who had the command of the 
Bolton train, it was incautious and imprudent in the highest de- 
gree to urge his machinery forward, when he beheld a volume of 
smoke immediately before him ; the least consideration must 
have convinced him that some accident must have happened, and 
that the cloud of steam would prevent (hose enveloped in it from 
perceiving the approach of his vehicle ; and, therefore, he ought 
immediately to have abated his speed, so as to have acquired a 
complete command of the engine by the time it arrived at the 



370 APPENDIX, 



Sir H. Davy's Safety Lamp* 



spot where the steam was floating. Hence the importance, in 
conducting steam-engines and other departments of machinery, 
of having as superintendents men of prudence and of enlightened 
minds, capable of foreseeing the probable effects of every com- 
bination of circumstances thai may happen to occur. For igno- 
rance is generally proud, obstinate, incautious, precipitate in its 
movements, and regardless of consequences.; so that, through 
its heedlessness and folly, the most splendid inventions are often 
impeded in their progress, and their value and utility called in 
question. 

The Liverpool and Manchester railway, and the locomotive 
powers of the machinery and engines which move along it, con- 
stitute one of the most splendid and useful improvements of mo- 
dern times. From the last half-yearly report of the directors, 
from June 30 to December 31, 1S32, it is satisfactorily proved 
that this railway is completely efficient and applicable to all the 
great objects for which it was designed. During the period now 
specified, there were carried along the railway 86,842 tons 
goods, 39,940 tons coals, and 182,823 passengers, which is 
73,498 fewer than in the corresponding six months of 1831, ow- 
ing to the prevalence of cholera in Dublin, and in the towns of 
Manchester and Liverpool. Were this railway continued to 
London, it is calculated that the journey from Liverpool to the 
metropolis, a distance of more than two hundred miles, might be 
performed in eight or ten hours. 

No. IX. — Circumstances tchich led to the invention of the Sajety 
Lamp. Pages 41, 151. 

This lamp, by means of which hundreds of lives have been 
pres< rved, was invented in the autumn of 1815. Sir Humphrey 
Davy, the inventor, was led to the consideration of this subject, 
by an application from Dr. Gray, now Bishop of Bristol, the 
chairman of a society established in 1813, at Bishop-AYearmouth, 
to consider and promote the means of preventing accidents by 
lire m coal-pits. Being then in Scotland, he visited the mines 
on his return .southward, and was supplied with specimens of fire- 
damp, which, on reaching London, he proceeded to examine and 
analyze. II« soon discovered that the carburetted hydrogen gas, 
called fire-damp by the miners, would not explode when mixed 
with less than six, or more than fourteen, times its volume 6f air; 
and further, that the explosive mixture could not be fired in tubes 
of small diameters and proportionate lengths. Gradually dimi- 
nishing these, he arrived at the conclusion that a tissue of wire 



DISCOVERY OF IODINE. 371 



Anecdote of Sir Humphrey Davy. 



in which the meshes do not exceed a certain small diameter, 
which may be considered as the ultimate limit of a series of such 
tubes, is impervious to the inflamed air; and that a lamp covered 
with such tissue may be used with perfect safety, even in an ex- 
plosive mixture which takes fire and burns within the cage, se- 
curely cut off from the power of doing harm. Thus, when the 
atmosphere is so impure that the flame of a lamp itself cannot 
be maintained, the Davy still supplies light to the miner, and turns 
his worst enemy into an obedient servant. This invention, the 
certain source of large profit, he presented with characteristic 
liberality to the public. The words are preserved in which, when 
pressed to secure to himself the benefit of a patent, he declined 
to do so, in conformity with the high-minded resolution which he 
formed, upon acquiring independent wealth, of never making his 
scientific eminence subservient to gain. " I have enough for all 
my views and purposes ; more wealth might be troublesome, and 
distract my attention from those pursuits in which I delight. 
More wealth could not increase my fame or happiness. It might 
undoubtedly enable me to put four horses to my carriage ; but 
what would it avail me to have it said that Sir Humphrey drives his 
carriage and four?' — Gallery of Portraits. 

No. X. — On the Utility of the Remarks and Observations of 
^Mechanics and Manufacturers. Page 153. 

That the remarks of experienced artists and labourers may 
frequently lead to useful discoveries may be illustrated by the 
following facts : — "A soap manufacturer remarked that the resi- 
duum of his ley, when exhausted of the alkali for which he em- 
ployed it, produced a corrosion of his copper boiler for which he 
could not account. He put it into the hands of a scientific che- 
mist for analysis, and the result was the discovery of one of the 
most singular and important chemical elements, iodine. The 
properties of this, being studied, were found to occur most appo- 
sitely in illustration and support of a variety of new, curious, and 
instructive views then gaining ground in chemistry, and thus ex- 
ercised a marked influence over the whole body of that science. 
Curiosity was excited ; the origin of the new substance was 
traced to the sea-plants, from whose ashes the principal ingre- 
dient of soap is obtained, and ultimately to the sea- water itself. It 
was thence hunted through nature, discovered in salt-mines and 
springs, and pursued into all bodies which have a marine origin ; 
among the rest into sponge. A medical practitioner then called 
to mind a reputed remedy for the cure of one of the most griev- 



i>72 APPENDIX. 



Iodine a Remedy for the Goitre. 



oua and unsightly disorders to which the human species is sub- 
ject — the goitre — which infests the inhabitants of mountainous 
districts to an extent which, in this favoured land, we have hap- 
pily no experience of, and which was said to have been originally 
cured by the ashes of burnt sponge. Led by this indication, he 
tried the ctieet of iodine on that complaint, and the result esta- 
blished the extraordinary fact that this singular substance, taken 
as a medicine, acts with the utmost promptitude and energv on 
goitre, dissipating the largest and most inveterate in a short time, 
and acting (of course with occasional failures, like all other me- 
dicines) as a specific or natural antagonist against that odious 
deformity. It is thus that any accession to our knowledge of nature 
is sure, sooner or later, to make itself felt in some practical ap- 
plication, and that a benefit conferred on science, by the casual 
observation or shrewd remark of even an unscientific or illiterate 
person, infallibly repays itself with interest, though often in a way 
that could never have been at first contemplated."* 

Iodine was accidentally discovered (as above stated) in 1812, 
by M. de Courtois, a manufacturer of saltpetre at Paris, and de- 
rived its first illustrations from M. Clement and M. Desormes. 
Its name literally signifies a violet colour. Its specific gravity is 
about 4. It becomes a violet-coloured gas at a temperature be- 
low that of boiling water; it combines with the metals, with 
phosphorus and sulphur, with the alkalis and metallic oxides, and 
forms a detonating compound with ammonia. Dr. Coindet of 
Geneva first recommended the use of it, in the form of tincture, 
for the cure of goitres. Some readers may perhaps require to 
be informed that the goitre is a large fleshy excrescence that 
grows from the throat, and sometimes increases to an enormous 
size. The inhabitants of certain parts of Switzerland, especially 
those in the republic of Valais, are particularly subject to this 
shocking deformity. 

No. XI. — Liberality of Religious Sectaries in America, con- 
trasted with British bigotry. Page 298. 

The following sketches are taken from Stuart's " Three Years 
in North America." When at Avon, a village in the north-west 
part of the State of New York, Mr. Stuart went to attend a 
church about a mile distant, of which he gives the following de- 
scription : " The borsea and carriagesweretiedupin great sheds 
near the chun-h-doors, during the time of service. The day was 

• II im. Discourse to Nat, PhiL 



LIBERALITY OF SECTARIES IN AMERICA. 373 



Anecdote of General Washington. 



hot, and the precentor, as usual, in the centre of the front gallery, 
opposite to the minister, officiated, not only without a gown, but 
without a coat upon his back. There was some sort of instru- 
mental music — hautboys and bassoons, I think, against which 
there are no prejudices in this country. The clergyman, a very 
unaffected, sincere-looking person, delivered a plain sensible dis- 
course, in which he introduced the names of Dr. Erskine and 
Dr. Chalmers, which sounded strange to us, considering where 
we were, on the western side of the Atlantic, not very far from 
the falls of Niagara. At the close of his sermon, he addressed 
his hearers in some such terms as these : — 'My friends, the sa- 
crament of the Lord's Supper is to be dispensed here this eve- 
ning. This is a free church, open to all — Presbyterians, Method- 
ists, Baptists, and all other denominations of Christians. This 
is according to our belief. All are invited ; the risk is theirs.' 
Such liberality is, we find on inquiry, not unusual among the cler- 
gvmen and congregations of different sects, with the exception 
hi general of Unitarians. I observe an example recorded in 
Hosack's Life of Clinton ; and as it relates to the great father of 
the United States, and is of unquestionable authority, I think it 
of sufficient interest for insertion. ' While the American army, 
under the command of Washington, lay encamped in the vicinity 
of Morristown, New-Jersey, it occurred that the service of the 
communion (then observed semi-annually only) was to be admi- 
nistered to the Presbyterian church in that village. In a mor- 
ning of the previous week, the general, after his accustomed in- 
spection of the camp, visited the house of the Rev. Dr. Jones, 
then pastor of that church, and, after the usual preliminaries, thus 
accosted him — 4 Doctor, I understand that the Lord's Supper is 
to be celebrated with you next Sunday. I would learn, if it ac- 
cords with the canons of your church to admit communicants of 
another denomination V The doctor rejoined, 4 Most certainly. 
Ours is not the Presbyterian table, general, but the Lord's table, 
and we hence give the Lord's invitation to all his followers, of 
whatever name.' The general replied, 'I am glad of u\ that is 
as it ought to be — but as I was not quite sure of the fact, I 
thought I would ascertain it from yourself, as I propose to join 
with you on that occasion. Though a member of the Church of 
England, 1 have no exclusive partialities.' The doctor reassured 
him of a cordial welcome, and the general was found seated 
with the communicants the next Sabbath. 

44 During my residence in the United States, subsequent to this 
period, I was frequently witness to the good understanding which 
generally prevails among clergymen professing different opinions 
'32 



374 APPENDIX. 



IHiberality of English I ':< r gym en. 



on church tonus ami doctrinal points in tins country; audi occa- 
sionally observed notices in the newspapers to the same purport. 
The two following I have preserved : 'The cornerstone of anew 
Baptist church was laid at Savannah, in Georgia and the ceremo- 
nial services were performed by clergymen of the Methodist, 
German, Lutheran,Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Baptist churches.' 
— 4 The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered in 
the Rev. Mr. Post's church (Presbyterian church at Washing- 
ton), and, a* usual, all members of other churches in regular 
standing were invited to unite with the members of that church in 
ying their faith in, and love to, their Lord and Saviour. The 
invited guests assembled around the table ; and it so happened 
that 31r. Grundy, a senator from Tennessee, and two Cherokee 
Indians, were seated side by side.' Nothing is more astounding, 
in the stage-coach intercourse with the people of this country, as 
well as in the bar-rooms where travellers meet, than the freedom 
and apparent sincerity of their remarks, and the perfect feeling of 
equality with which the conversation is maintained, especially on 
religious matters. I have heard the most opposite creeds main- 
tained, without any thing like acrimonious discussion or sarcastic 
remark, by persons in the same stage, professing themselves un- 
disguisedly Calvinists, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Unitari- 
ans," &c. 

If such are the liberal views entertained in America on religious 
subjects, and if such dispositions are more congenial to the spirit 
of the Christian system, than the fiery and unhallowed zeal and 
unholy jealousies which many religionists display — why are they 
not more frequently manifested in our own country ? for the dif- 
ference of localities and customs cannot alter the nature and obli- 
gation of moral principles and actions. What a striking contrast 
to the scenes now exhibited are such facts as the following: " The 
Rev. J. T. Campbell, Hector of Tilston, in the diocess of Chester, 
hd.s In in 8U8pended from his clerical function for twelve months, 
with a sequestration of his benefice for that time, for preaching in 
a ^Methodist meeting-hause in Nantwich, and in other similar places 
within the diocess." — " The Rev. Dr. Rice, curate of St. Luke's, 
London, who made himself conspicuous the other dayat Mr.Wake- 
ly's dinner, ha>, m consequence of the liberal sentiments he then ex- 
pressed on the subject of church reform, fallen under the censure 
of his diocesan*" Both these notices appeared in most of the 
newspapers in January, 1833, and were never contradicted! If 
such conduct in the rulers of the church were warranted by the 
doctrine- or precepts of the New Testament, Christianity would 
be unworthy of any man's attention or support. If the principles 




ILLIBERALITY OF SECTARIES IN GREAT BRITAIN. 375 

i -- i -■■ 

An English Clergyman — Duke of Newcastle. 

and persecuting spirit involved in such decisions were counte- 
nanced and supported by the laws of the state, we should soon be 
subjected to all the burnings, hangings, maimings, tortures, and 
horrid cruelties which distinguished the dark ages of popery and 
the proceedings of the Star Chamber. How long will it be ere 
professed Christians display a Christian spirit ? and what is the 
utility of Christianity to the world, unless candour, forbearance, 
love, meekness, and other Christian virtues be the characteristics 
of its professed votaries ? We dare any person to bring forward 
a single instance of a man's being converted to the faith of our 
holy religion by the display of unhallowed zeal, furious bigotry, 
sectarian contentions, or the manifestation of a domineering and 
persecuting spirit. But thousands of instances could be produced 
of such dispositions being the means of recruiting the ranks of 
infidelity and licentiousness. The following statement, sent to 
the editor of the Liverpool JMercury, Feb. 14, 1833, displays the 
liberality of certain British clergymen in the thirty-third year of 
the nineteenth century. " I have been recently called on by death 

to part with one of my children. I waited upon the Rev. , 

of church (where I buried a child a short time ago), to ar- 
range with him about its interment near the other. ' But to what 
place of worship do you goV inquired most seriously the reverend 
divine. ■ The Methodists, sir, of the New Connexion,' I replied. 
' As you do not attend my church, I cannot, therefore, bury your 
child. — Where was your child baptized V was his second inquiry. 
c At the church of which I am a member,' I answered. ' How 
can you think, exclaimed the liberal and pious, but indignant, 
minister, ' that I shall bury your child, which has been baptized 
by a dissenter ! Take your child to be buried where it was bap- 
tized.' — ' But, sir, we have no burial-ground connected with our 
chapel.'— 'No matter; the churchwardens of my church have 
determined not to bury any that do not belong to the church. Go,' 

said the minister, ' to , and arrange with him.' So saying, 

he turned his back and left me. — R. Emery." 

The Duke of Newcastle — so notorious for doing what he 
phases with his own — has the following clause introduced into 
certain leases in the neighborhood of Nottingham : " That in 
none of the houses to be built shall be held prayer-meetings, or any 
conventicles for the diffusion of sentiments contrary to the doctrines 
of the Church of England ." A fine specimen, truly, of Christian 
liberality in the nineteenth century ! If his grace the Duke of 
Newcastle attended to his prayers as frequently and fervently as 
the liturgy enjoins, he would be disposed to display a little more 
candour in reference to the " prayer-meetings" of his dissenting 



37b* APPENDIX, 



eracy of the ( 'lergy. 



brethren. With regard to the leading doctrines of the Church of 
England, there are few dissenters disposed to find much fault 
with them. But what will his grace say of the indolence and 
avaricious conduct of many of the ministers of that church, which 
have been the cause of the rapid increase of dissenters? The 
vicar of Pevensey in Sussex (as appears from a petition of the 
parishioners, dated February 1, 1833) derives an income from the 
parish of about 1200/. a year, and yet has never once performed 
divine service since his induction, about seventeen years ago. lie 
has another living at Guostling, about fifteen miles distant, from 
which he derives a revenue of 400/. per annum. Whether he does 
duty there is not known; hut it is not absurd to suppose that a 
parson who will not so much as read prayers for 1200/. is not 
very likely to preach for 400/. — R. Hodgson, dean of Carlisle, is 
also vicar of Burg-on-Sands, rector of St. George's in Hanover- 
square, vicar of Ilellington ; and yet at none of these places is 
he found officiating. The tithes received by the dean and chapter 
for Heshet amount to 1000/. or 1500/. a year ; they pay the cu- 
rate that does the duty IS/. 5.9., or at the rate of one shilling a 
day — the wages of a bricklayer's labourer. In Wetheral and 
"Warwick, the dean and chapter draw about 1000/. a year for 
tithes, and 1000/. a year from the church lands, and they 
pay the working minister the sum of 50/. a year. The tithes 
of the parish of St. Cuthberts and St. Mary amount to about 
1500/. a year, and the two curates who do the duty receive 
each the sum of 2/. 135. Ad. a year!! Three brothers of 
the name of Goodenough monopolize thirteen pieces of church 
preferment One of them is prebend of Carlisle, Westminster, 
and Fork — vicar of Wath All-Saints on Dearn, chaplain of Ad- 
wick, and chaplain of Brampton Bierlow. Those preferments 
produce, of course, several thousands, for which the incumbents 
perform absolutely nothing. And yet, one of the persons above 
alluded to had lately the effrontery to come to Carlisle and preach 
up l . 4 the church is in danger," because these shocking enormities 
are now exposed to public reprobation. See Times newspaper for 
M areh 7, 8, L833. It would be no great breach of charity to 
suppose thai it is such doctrines ond practices as those now stated, 
that the Duke of Newcastle is determined to support with such a 
fi p( i of per» cuting zeal — and that pure Christianity, detached 
from its connexions with the state, is the object of his hatred and 
contempt. 



As 



a corroboration of Mr. Stuart's statements respecting the 



EFFECTS OF INFIDEL PHILOSOFHY. 377 



Liberality of Sectaries in America. 



liberality of Religious Sectaries in America, the following ex- 
tract of a letter, dated 18th February 1S33, which the author 
received from the Rev. Dr. S , a learned and pious Pres- 
byterian minister in the State of New York, may be here in- 
serted — 

" I deeply regret to hear that so much of the spirit of sectarian- 
ism prevails among the different religious denominations of your 
country. We too, have enough of it ; but it is here manifestly 
on the decline. You may possibly think it an unreasonable stretch 
of liberality, when I tell you, that, within a few weeks, I suffered an 
Episcopalian to preach in my pulpit, and to use his own forms of 
prayer. But such is the state of feeling in my congregation, that, 
though such a thing had never before occurred among them, yet 
it met with their universal and unqualified approbation. On the 
other hand, 1 expect, in the course of a week or two, to preach a 
charity sermon here in one of our Episcopal churches, and to per- 
form the whole service in my own way. This, it must be con- 
fessed, is a little uncommon even in this country ; but every thing 
indicates, that such expressions of good will, even between 
Presbyterians and Episcopalians, will soon become frequent. In- 
dependents and Presbyterians here occupy nearly the same ground. 
They are indeed distinct denominations, but are represented in 
each other's public bodies." The author has perused an excel- 
lent sermon of the clergyman now alluded to, which was preached 
in an Independent church when introducing an Independent minis- 
ter to his charge immediately after ordination, which shows that 
we have still much to learn from our transatlantic brethren, in re- 
lation to a friendly and affectionate intercourse with Christians of 
different denominations. 



No. XII. — On the Demoralizing Effects of Infidel Philosophy. 

Pages 307-311. 

With the view of corroborating and illustrating more fully the 
statements made in the pages referred to, the following facts may 
be stated in relation to the moral character of the inhabitants of 
France, particularly those of Paris. 

In the first place, the vice of gambling prevails in the capital of 
France to an extent unknown in almost any other country. The 
Palais Royale is the grand focus of this species of iniquity, which 
is the fertile source of licentiousness, and of almost every crime. 
Mr. J. Scott, who visited Paris in 1814, thus describes this sink 
of moral pollution : " The Palais Royale presents the most cha- 
32* 



37S APPENDIX, 



Public Morals in Parit— Gambling, 



racteristic feature of Paris ; it is dissolute, gay, wretched, elegant, 
paltry, busy, and idle; it suggests recollections of atrocity, and 
supplies Bights of fascination; it displays virtue* and vice living 
on easy terms, and in immediate neighbourhood of each other. 
Excitements, indulgences, and privations — art and vulgarity — 
science and ignorance — artful conspiracies and careless debauch- 
eries — all mingle here, forming an atmosphere of various exhala- 
tions, a whirl of the most lively images — a stimulating melange of 
what is most heating, intoxicating, and subduing*" Sir W. Scott, 
who visited Paris in 1815, gives the following description of this 
infamous establishment : " The Palais Royale, in whose saloons 
and porticoes vice has established a public and open school for 
gambling and licentiousness, should be levelled to the ground, with 
all its accursed brothels and gambling houses — rendezvouses the 
more seductive to youth as being free from some of those dangers 
which would alarm timidity in places of avowedly scandalous re- 
sort. In the Salon des Et rangers, the most celebrated haunt of 
this Dom-Daniel, which I had the curiosity to visit, the scene was 
decent and silent to a degree of solemnity. An immense hall was 
filled with gamesters and spectators. Those who kept the bank 
and managed the affairs of the establishment were distinguished 
by the green shades which they wore to preserve their eyes — by 
their silent and grave demeanour, and by the paleness of their 
countenances, exhausted by their constant vigils. There was no 
distinction of persons, nor any passport required for entrance, save 
that of a decent exterior ; and on the long tables, which were co- 
vered with gold, an artizan was at liberty to hazard his week's 
U ages, or a noble his whole estate. Youth and age were equally 
welcome, and any one who chose to play within the limits of a 
trifling sum had only to accuse his own weakness if he was drawn 
into deeper or more dangerous hazard. Every thing appeared to 
be conducted with perfect fairness. The only advantage po- 
d by the bank (which is, however, enormous) is the extent 
of the funds, by which it is enabled to sustain any reverse of for- 
tune ; whereas, most of the individuals who play against the bank 
are in circumstances to be ruined by the first succession of ill 
luck ; so that ultimately the small ventures merge in the stock of 
the principal adventurers, as rivers run into the sea. The profits 
of the establishment must indeed be very large, to support its ex- 
penses. Besides a variety of attendants, who distribute refresh- 
ments to the players gratis, there is an elegant entertainment, 
with expensive wines, regularly prepared about three o'clock in 
the morning for those who choose to partake of it. With such 
temptations around him, and where the hazarding an insignificant 



MORALS OF FRANCE. 379 



Marriage — Public Morals in Paris. 



sum seems at first venial or innocent, it is no wonder that thou- 
sands feel themselves gradually involved in the vortex, whose 
verge is so little distinguishable, until they are swallowed up, 
with their time, talents, fortune, and frequently also both body and 
soul. 

44 This is vice with her fairest vizard ; but the same unhal- 
lowed precinct contains many a secret cell for the most hideous 
and unheard-of debaucheries ; many an open rendezvous of 
infamy, and many a den of usury and treason ; the whole mixed 
with a vanity fair of shops for jewels, trinkets, and baubles ; that 
bashfulness may not need a decent pretext for adventuring into 
the haunts of infamy. It was here that the preachers of revolu- 
tion found, amid gamblers, desperadoes, and prostitutes, ready 
auditors of their doctrines, and active hands to labour in their 
vineyard. It was here that the plots of the Buonapartists were 
adjusted ; and from hence the seduced soldiers, inflamed with 
many a bumper to the health of the exile of Elba, under the mys- 
tic names of Jean de PEpee and Corporal Yiolet, were dismissed 
to spread the news of his approaching return. In short, from 
this central pit of Acheron, in which are openly assembled and 
mingled those characters and occupations which, in all other 
capitals, are driven to shroud themselves in separate and retired 
recesses — from this focus of vice and treason have flowed forth 
those waters of bitterness of which France has drunk so deeply." 

The state of marriage in this country since the revolution is 
likewise the fertile source of immorality and crime. Marriage 
is little else .than a state of legal concubinage, a mere temporary 
connexion, from which the parties can loose themselves when 
they please ; and women are a species of mercantile commodity. 
Illicit connexions and illegitimate children, especially in Paris, 
are numerous beyond what is known in any other country. The 
following statement of the affairs of the French capital for the 
year ending 22d September, 1803, given by the prefect of police 
to the grand judge, presents a most revolting idea of the state of 
public morals : — During this year 490 men and 167 women com- 
mitted suicide ; 81 men and 69 women were murdered, of whom 
55 men and 52 women were foreigners ; 644 divorces ; 155 
murderers executed ; 1210 persons condemned to the galleys, 
&c. ; 1626 persons to hard labour, and 64 marked with hot irons ; 
12,076 public women were registered ; large sums were levied 
from these wretched creatures, who wer 3 made to pay from 5 to 
10 guineas each monthly, according to their rank, beauty, or 
fashion; 1552 kept mistresses were n oted down by the police, 
and 380 brothels licensed by the prefec t. Among the criminals 



3S0 ArrENPix. 



Profanation of tin* Sabbath. 



executed were 7 lathers for poisoning their children, 10 husbands 
for murdering their wives, wives that had murdered their hus- 
bands, and L5 children who had })oisoned or otherwise destroyed 
their parents. 

The glaring profanation, of the Sabbath is another striking 
characteristic of the people of France, especially as displayed in 
the capital. Entering Paris on the Sabbath, a Briton is shocked 
at beholding all that reverence and solemnity with which that 
sacred day is generally kept in Christian countries, not only 
set aside, but ridiculed and contemned, and a whole people 
apparently lost to every impression of religion. The shops are 
all alive, the gaming houses filled, the theatres crowded, the 
streets deafened with ballad-singers and mountebanks ; persons 
of all ages, from the hoary grandsire to the child of four or five 
years, engaged in balls, routs, and dances — the house of God 
alone deserted, and the voice of religion alone unheard and 
despised. The Sabbath was the day appointed for celebrating 
the return of Buonaparte from Elba in IS 15. In the grand square 
there were stationed two theatres of dancers and rope-dancers — 
two theatres of amusing physical experiments — six bands for 
dancing — a theatre of singers — a display of fireworks — a circus 
where Francone's troops were to exhibit — and, above all, that 
most delectable sport called JMatts de Cocaine. The Matts de 
Cocagne consists of two long poles, near the tops of which are 
suspended various articles of cookery, such as roast beef, fowls, 
ducks, &c. The poles are soaped and rendered slippery at the 
bottom ; and the sport consists in the ludicrous failures of those 
who climb to reach the eatables. Two Matts de Cocagne were 
also erected in the square Marjury ; as also four bands for dan- 
cing, a theatre of rope -dancers, a theatre of amusing experiments, 
a theatre of singers, &c, and fireworks. These amusements 

to commence at two o'clock P. M., and to last till night. 
Along the avenue to the Champ de Elysees there were erected 36 
fountains of wine, 12 tables for the distribution of eatables, such 

9, fowls, sausagt s, &c. The distribution of the wine and 
eatables took place at Three o'clock. At nine o'clock there was 
a grand firework at the. Place de Concorde. Immediately after- 
ward a detonation balloon ascended from the Champ do Elysees. 
The detonation took place when the balloon was at the height of 
600 toises, or above 3O00 feet In the evening all the theatres 
were open gratis, and ill the public edifices were illuminated. 
Such was the mode in which the Parisians worshipped the 
"Goddess of Reason" on the day appointed for the Christian 
Sabbath. 



PROFANATION OF THE SABBATH IN PARIS. 381 



"Want of Scriptural Knowledge, 



That such profanation of the Sabbath is still continued, and 
that it is not confined to the city of Paris, but abounds in most of 
the provincial towns of France, appears from the following extract 
of a letter inserted in the Evangelical Magazine for January, 
1833, from a gentleman who recently resided in different parts of 
that country : — " Could every pious reader of this letter be 
awakened, on the morning of that sacred day, as I have been, by 
Ihe clang of the anvil, and, on his entrance into the streets and 
markets, observe business prosecuted or suspended according to 
the tastes of the tradesmen — could he mark the workmen on 
seasons of religious festival erecting the triumphal arch on the 
Sabbath morning, and removing it on the Sabbath evening, and 
notice the labourers, at their option, toiling all day at the public 
works — could he see the card-party in the hotel, and the nine- 
pins before every public house, and the promenaders swarming 
in all the suburbs — could he be compelled to witness on one 
Sunday a grand review of a garrison, and on another be disturbed 
by the music of a company of strolling players — and could he 
find, amid all this profanation, as I have found, no temple to which 
to retreat, save the barren cliff or the ocean-cave — surelv he 
would feel and proclaim the truth, • This people is destroyed for 
lack of knowledge/ " The same gentleman shows that this pro- 
fanation is chiefly occasioned by " the destitution of Scriptural 
information which exists in France," which the following facts, 
among many others that came under his own observation, tend to 

illustrate. " On the road to M , on a market-day, I stopped 

about a dozen persons, some poor, others of the better classes, 
and showing them the New Testament, begged them to inform 
me if they possessed it. With a single exception, they all replied 

in the negative. In the town of M I entered, with the same 

inquiry, many of the most respectable shops. Only one indivi- 
dual among their occupiers was the owner of a New Testament. 
One gentleman, who, during a week, dined with me at my inn, and 
who avowed himself a deist and a materialist, said that he had not 
seen a Testament for many years. Indeed, I doubted whether he 
had ever read it ; for, on my presenting one to him, he asked if it 
contained an account of the creation. A journeyman bookbinder, 
having expressed a wish to obtain this precious book, remarked, 
on receiving it, in perfect ignorance of its divine authority, that 
he dared to say it was ■ a very fine work.' A student in a univer- 
sity, about 20 years of age, told me, that although he had seen the 
Vulgate (Latin) version of the New Testament, he had never 
met with it in a French translation. A young woman, who pro- 
fessed to have a Bible, produced instead of it a Catholic abridge- 



3S2 LPPENDIX. 



II For 1 dancing. 



men! of the Scriptures, garbled in many important portions, and 
interlarded with the comments of the fathers." 

Such facts afford a striking evidence of the hostility of the 
Roman Catholic clergy in France to the circulation of the Scrip- 
tores, and the enlightening el" the minds of the community in the 
knowledge of divine truths ; and therefore it is no wonder that 
infidelity, materialism, and immorality should very generally pre- 
vail. M Even among the Protestants," says the same writer, " a 
large number of their ministers are worldly men, frequenting, as 
a pious lady assured me, 4 the chase, the 1 dance, and the billiard- 
table. 1 As to the public worship of God, the case is equally 
deplorable. In two large towns, and a population of 25,000, I 
found no Protestant sanctuary. In a third town, containing 
about 7000 inhabitants, there was an English Episcopal chapel 
for the British residents, but no French Protestant service. At a 
fourth, in which there was a Protestant church, the minister, who 
supplied four other places, preached one Sabbath in five weeks." 

The mania for dancings which pervades all classes and all ages, 
is another characteristic of the people of Paris, of which some 
idea may be formed from the following extract from a French 
public journal, dated August 2, 1804 : — " The dansomania of 
both sexes seems rather to increase than decrease with the warm 
weather. Sixty balls were advertised for last Sunday ; and for 
to-morrow sixty-nine are announced. Any person walking in the 
Elysian fields, or on the Boulevards, maybe convinced that these 
temples of pleasure are not without worshippers. Besides these, 
in our own walks last Sunday, we counted no less than twenty- 
two garden* not advertised, where there was fiddling and dan- 
ting. Indeed, this pleasure is tempting, because it is very cheap. 
For a bottle of beer, which costs 6 sous (3c/.), and 2 sous (Id.) 
to the fiddler, a husband and wife, with their children, may amuse 
tcfocs from lliree o'clock in the afternoon till eleven o'clock at 
night A.8 this exercise both diverts the mind and strengthens 
the body, and as Sunday is the only day of the week which the 
most numerous classes of people can dispose of, without injury to 
thems< 1\< - or the state, government encourages, as much as possi- 
l>l< , thesi nt amusements on that day. In the garden of 

Chaumietre, on the Boulevard Neuf, we observed, in the same 
quadrilles, last Sunday, four '/(iterations, the; ^reat-grandsiro 
cing with his great-great-granddaughter, and the great-grand- 
mamma dancing with her great-great-grandson. It was a satis- 
faction impossible t^» he expressed, to see persons of so many 
different ages all enjoying the same pleasure for the present, not 
remembering past misfortunes, nor apprehending future ones. 



STATE OF RELIGION IN FRANCE. 3S3 



Prevalence of Infidelity. 



The grave seemed equally distant from the girl often years old, and 
from her great-grandmamma of seventy years, and from the boy 
that had not seen three lustres as from the great-grandsire reach- 
ing nearly fourscore years. In another quadrille were four lovers 
dancing with their mistresses. There, again, nothing was ob- 
served but an emulation who should enjoy the present moment. 
Not an idea of the past, or of time to come, clouded their thoughts ; 
in a few words, they were perfectly happy. Let those tormented 
bv avarice or ambition frequent those places on a Sunday, and 
they will be cured of their vile passions, if they are not incurable."* 
Such are a few sketches of the moral state and character of the 
people of Paris, which, there is every reason to believe, are, with 
a few modifications, applicable to the inhabitants of most of the 
other large towns in France. Among the great mass of the po- 
pulation of that country, there appears to be no distinct recogni- 
tion of the moral attributes of the Deity, of the obligation of the 
divine law, or of a future and eternal state of existence. Whirled 
about incessantly in the vortex of vanity and dissipation, the Crea- 
tor is lost sight of, moral responsibility disregarded, and present 
sensual gratifications pursued with the utmost eagerness, regard- 
less whether death shall prove the precursor to permanent happi- 
ness or misery, or to a state of "eternal sleep." Never, perhaps, 
even in a pagan country, was the Epicurean philosophy so sys- 
tematically reduced to practice as in the country of Yoltaire, 
Buffon, Mirabeau, Condorcet, Helvetius, and Diderot. It can- 
not be difficult to trace the present demoralization of France to 
the skeptical and atheistical principles disseminated by such wri- 
ters, which were adopted in all their extent, and acted upon, by 
the leaders of the first Revolution. Soon after that event, edu- 
cation was altogether proscribed. During the space of five years, 
from 1791 to 1796, the public instruction of the young was to- 
tally set aside, and, of course, they were left to remain entirely 
ignorant of the facts and doctrines of religion, and of the duties 
they owe to God and to man. It is easy, therefore, to conceive 
what must be the intellectual, the moral, and religious condition 
of those who were born a little before this period, and who now 
form a considerable portion of the. population arrived at the years 
of manhood. A gentleman at Paris happened to possess a do- 
mestic of sense and «;eneral intelligence above his station. His 
master, upon some occasion, used to him the expression, " It is 
doing as we would be done by, — the Christian maxim." The 

* Several of the above sketches are extracted from the " Glasgow Geogra- 
phy," a work which contains an immense mass of historical, geographical, 
and miscellaneous information. 



3S4 APPENDIX, 



i. ri n ni a Female Deity. 



young man looked rather surprised 2 tfYes," replied the gentle- 
man, " I sayi n is the doctrine of the Christian religion, which 
:. aches us not only to do as we would be done by, but also to re- 
turn good for evil." — " It may be so, sir," replied he, H but I had 
the misfortune to be born during the heat of the revolution, when 
it would have been death to have spoken on the subject of reli- 
gion : and so soon as 1 was fifteen years old, I was put into the 
ds of the drill-sergeant, whose first lesson to me was, that, as a 
French soldier, 1 was to fear neither God nor devil." It is to be 
hoped, that the rising generation in France is now somewhat im- 
proved in intelligence and morality beyond that which sprang up 
during the demoralizing scenes of the first revolution ; but, in 
spite of all the counteracting efforts that can now be used, ano- 
ther generation, at least, must pass away, before the immoral ef- 
3 produced by infidel philosophy, and the principles which pre- 
vailed during the " reign of (error," can be nearly obliterated. 

1 shall conclude these sketches with the following account of 
the consecration of the " Goddess of Reason," one of the most 
profane and presumptuous mockeries of every thing that is ra- 
tional or sacred to be found in the history of mankind. 

4i The section of the Sans Culottes declared at the bar of the 
ivention, November, 10, 1793, that they would no longer 
have priests among them, and that they required the total sup- 
pression of all salaries paid to the ministers of religious wor- 
ship. The petition was followed by a numerous procession, 
which filed off in the hall, accompanied by national music. Sur- 
rounded by them, appeared a young woman* of the finest figure, 
. ed in the robes of liberty, and seated in a chair, ornamented 
leaves and festoons. She was placed opposite the president ; 
and Chaumette, one of the members, said, ' Fanaticism has ahan- 
d the place of truth ; squint-eyed, it could not bear the bril- 
liant light The people of Paris have taken possession of the 
►le, which they have regenerated; the Gothic arches which 
till this day resounded with lie* now echo with the accents of 
truth; you see we have Qot taken for our festivals inanimate idols, 
l chef (Pa uvre of nature whom we have arrayed in the habit 
of liberty; its sacred form has inflamed all hearts. The public 
lomore altars, no more priests, no other God 
buf the God of nature.' We, their magistrates, we accompany 
them from the temple of truth to the temple of the laws, to cele- 
brate B new liberty, and to request that the ci-devant church of 
Noire Dame be changed into a temple consecrated to reason and 

lac' a i no I - , who was afterward guillotined. 



CONSECRATION OF A FEMALE DEITY. 385 

■ '" ± . ■ m r 

Degradation of Philosophy. 

truth.' This proposal, being converted into a motion, was imme- 
diately decreed ; and the Convention afterward decided that the 
citizens of Paris, on this day, continued to deserve well of their 
country. The goddess then seated herself by the side of the 
president, who gave her a fraternal kiss. The secretaries pre- 
sented themselves to share the same favour ; every one was eager 
to kiss the new divinity, whom so many salutations did not in the 
least disconcert. During the ceremony, the orphans of the coun- 
try, pupils of Bourdon (one of the members,) sang a hymn to rea- 
son, composed by citizen Moline. The national music played 
Gosset's hymn to liberty. The Convention then mixed with the 
people, to celebrate the feast of reason in her new temple. A grand 
festival was accordingly held in the church of Notre Dame, in 
honour of this deitv. In the middle of the church was erected a 
mount, and on it a very plain temple, the facade of which bore the 
following inscription — c Jl la Philosophic' The busts of the most 
celebrated philosophers were placed before the gate of this tem- 
ple. The torch of truth was in the summit of the mount, upon 
the altar of Reason, spreading light. The Convention and all 
the constituted authorities assisted at the ceremony. Two rows 
of young girls, dressed in white, each wearing a crown of oak 
leaves, crossed before the altar of reason, at the sound of republi- 
can music : each of the girls inclined before the torch, and 
ascended the summit of the mount. Liberty then came out of the 
temple of philosophy, towards a throne made of turf, to receive 
the homage of the republicans of both sexes, who sang a hymn in 
her praise, extending their arms at the same time towards her. 
Liberty ascended afterward, to return to the temple, and, in 
re-entering it, she turned about, casting a look of benevolence 
upon her friends ; when she got in, every one expressed with en- 
thusiasm the sensations which the goddess excited in them by 
songs of joy ; and they swore never, never to cease to be faithful 
to her." ° 

Such were the festivities and ceremonies which were prescribed 
for the installation of this new divinity, and such the shameless 
folly and daring impiety -with which they were accompanied ! 
Such is the Religion of what has been presumptuously called 
Philosophy, when it has shaken off its allegiance to the Christian 
Revelation — a religion as inconsistent with the dictates of reason 
and the common sense of mankind, as it is with the religion of the 
Bible. Never, in any age, was philosophy so shamefully degraded, 
and exposed to the contempt of every rational mind, as when it 
thus stooped to such absurd foolery and Heaven-daring profanity 
Besides the impiety of the whole of this procedure — which is 
i 33 



386 APPENDIX, 



Conclusion. 



almost without a parallel in the annals of the world, — there was 
an imbecility and a silliness in it altogether incompatible with 
those sublime ideas of creation and Providence which true phi- 
losophy, when properly directed, has a tendency to inspire. And 
how inconsistently, as well as inhumanely, did these worshippers 
of " liberty," " reason," and " truth" conduct themselves to the 
representative of their goddess, when, soon after, they doomed 
the lady, whom they had kissed and adored in the " temple of 
truth," to expire under the stroke of the guillotine ! Such occur- 
rences appear evidently intended by the moral Governor of the 
world, to admonish us of the danger of separating science from 
its connexions with revealed religion, and to show us to what 
dreadful lengths, in impiety nd crime, even men of talent will 
proceedi when the truths of Revelation are set aside, and the 
principles and moral laws of Christianity are trampled under foot 



THK SHD. 



&77-2X 



I 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




005 652 624 9 



